Kit Roberts
A coroner has explained how a woman did not find her husband's body for eight months.
Jennifer Maedge reported her husband Richard Maedge missing after he called her in April 2022 to say that he was leaving work early as he felt unwell.
She got home and saw her Richard's car on the driveway and his wallet, keys, and cards in the house.
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But she found no sign of Richard himself, which immediately raised alarm bells for Jennifer.
Police came and searched the house, but were unable to find any sign of Richard in the house.
But the state of the house meant that the police did not find Richard's body, which was indeed in the house.
The big problem was the state in which the house was being kept, which the police described as 'sewer-like' and a 'hoarder home'.
Jennifer would go on for another eight months until she happened upon Richard's body, while putting up the Christmas decorations.
She shared: "I decided to put the Christmas tree up, and I was looking for a tote of Christmas ornaments, and that's when I discovered him."
The death was subsequently investigated by the coroner's court, who found that Richard had died by suicide.
As for what had happened in the interim, well they explained that Richard's body had effectively been mummified over the intervening months.
This meant that the body was less likely to give off any foul odours, or give off less foul odours, which might have led to it being discovered earlier.
Richard's sister, Marilyn Toliver, was furious that the authorities had not managed to find Richard in the intervening time.
Speaking to the St Louis Post-Dispatch, she said: "I need answers from the police chief. I need answers from the mayor. How is this even possible?
"Mistakes were made, and I want answers. If it means filing a complaint and going all the way to the governor, I will. I’m not going away.
"I'm just now beginning to say stuff out loud. I should have been screaming from the beginning, but I was suckered in by the police department saying they were doing their job and looking for him."
Police in Troy, Illinois said that they had carried out comprehensive searches at the property and had not found any sign of Richard.
They added: "There were no other injuries found during the autopsy examination or evidence found that would indicate anything nefarious regarding Mr Maedge's death."