Elderly shut-in boarded up inside foreclosed house (yes, she's dead)

[Modem Butterfly]

This is a very sad, and very odd story. This woman had been dead inside her house for at least eight months. The coroner says they do not know whether she was alive or not when they boarded up her house.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5571766.html

Pirtle's death went unnoticed for so long partly because of her own reclusiveness, but also because city inspectors aren't required to walk through buildings before boarding them up.

Darlene Pirtle's houseKyndell HarknessStar TribuneAlthough authorities initially said the contractor was expected to walk through the property before boarding it up in November, that wasn't part of the contract. The city official who manages such properties said the city is considering whether to change the policy

SNIP

On July 21, a consultant hired by the county to inspect Pirtle's house for mold and asbestos found her mummified body wedged between her bed and a dresser cluttered with beauty products, faded pictures and a tiny Christmas tree. Police continue to investigate her death, but no foul play was involved.

Determining when she died will be very difficult, said Dr. Andrew Baker, the county medical examiner. He said she had been dead for at least several months.

"There is no guarantee we can say with certainty if she was alive when the house was boarded up," he said.


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[lonestarnot]

1. OMG This is disgustingly sad!

:cry:

[mark11727]

2. "...considering whether to change the policy...?"

I'd say the CURRENT policy has some pretty BIG problems, eh?

[Skidmore]

3. You can tell much about the soul of a nation by how

it treats its children, its elderly, and the weak.

[Kaylee]

5. Her reclusiveness definitely didn't help.

To add to the long list of should've and would've. Why didn't the nephew keep a copy of the keys to physically check in on her from time to time. Were there no neighbors he could've alerted to, at the least, periodically see if the mail is picked up. She was just abandoned.

[ecoflame]

6. Gimme a break

Did you guys read the story?

The woman tended towards reclusivity according to her nephew and even while he lived with her - for 20 years.

I would think this would bring about a change in walking thru a 'condemned' house before boarding up. Perhaps the police should have walked thru when they were initially called back in November.

The entire story is just odd.

[Skidmore]

10. So the nephew moved out after 20 years.

He couldn't have checked in once in a while to see how his aunt was doing. What about her neighbors?

I find it abhorrent that we have developed a culture in which no one has responibility for anyone beyond themselves.

[LisaL]

12. According to the article, the neighbors did call the police.

The inspector then looked trough the window but never went inside.

[Kaylee]

4. No one had any contact with her for 3 years...

Her nephew hadn't spoken to her since 2002 when he moved out. Who knows when she died? What a horrible way to go!

[LeftHander]

7. I guess her "christian" neighbor's didn't give a shit about her...

If they were christians....

[tjdee]

8. The story doesn't say anything about their religious leanings.

:eyes:

[Modem Butterfly]

9. In that part of the country, they probably were Xians

But in any event, she sounds like she was surrounded with apartment buildings, and the apartment dwellers were probably more concerned with their immediate neighbors than her.

[myrna minx]

11. Oh-this makes me want to cry.

:cry:

[flvegan]

13. Lost her home due to taxes

I read a different story, here:
http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_211132054.html

Yet, there was no eviction by the County? She lived there since 1963, couldn't have had a mortgage (the bank would've been notified of the tax sale, most likely), but she couldn't afford/didn't pay her taxes. Maybe she had some mental issues. Either way, society/govt. failed this woman.

[Blue Diadem]

14. RIP Darlene Pirtle

Very very sad story. I see the neighbors did call the police in early Nov. when the door was left open so at least they did notice and call..the police just closed the door. How sad no one entered to see if she was possibly laying in there injured.

The city policy should be changed..every home should be inspected before it's boarded up.

[zann725]

15. If they found a Christmas tree up, she WAS alive in Nov. when police

closed the door. She probably stayed alive until all her canned food and supplies ran out. Probably about Christmas. How ironic in its timing and cruelty.

She probably didn't leave because she was "crazy"...she obviously had nowhere else to live. Like most elderly, she wanted to live in her home until she died. Sad. Sad.

[Blue Diadem]

16. That's right, the story did say there was a Christmas tree..

this story makes me cry..that poor lady..to be treated so badly in her last years when she needed the most help..

[SoCalDem]

17. No foul play????

If the foreclosure and boarding-up was sooooooo necessary in November, then why has it taken EIGHT MONTHS for someone to actually go inside the house? It's not like there were buyers lined up around the block.:grr: