During an investigation into a missing 95-year-old woman, Union City police made an unexpected and chilling discovery in her home. A half-mummified male body was found seated on a toilet in the woman’s bathroom, which authorities believe had been there for several months.
According to the Mercury News, the bizarre episode began in mid-August when family members reported their elderly relative missing. They expressed deep concern, as the woman suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and was unable to care for herself. However, it turned out to be a misunderstanding; she had actually been placed in a nursing home nearly two years prior, and no one had informed her family.
Despite this revelation, police had already issued a missing person alert and sent officers to her home on Appian Way in Union City. Upon arrival, investigators were met with a horrifying scene. The house was in severe disrepair, cluttered with trash, old newspapers, discarded furniture, and rotting food. The interior was filthy and foul-smelling, with debris scattered everywhere, swarming with flies, and covered in cobwebs.
A man in his 50s, related to the elderly woman, was living there but refused to let the police inside. Authorities noted that he appeared to be struggling with mental health issues, looking unkempt with long hair and fungus on his ears, and seemed to be in a precarious state of health. After he was transported to a mental health facility for care, officials proceeded to search the house and made the shocking discovery of the man’s corpse in the bathroom.
Officer Sergio Quintero of the Union City Police Department stated that the coroner has not yet determined the cause of death but initial signs suggest it was not a homicide. “In a typical suspicious death investigation, we begin from the perspective of a potential homicide. However, the current direction of this case is not pointing towards foul play,” Quintero explained.
As of now, more than two months after the grim find, authorities have yet to identify the deceased male or ascertain how he died. Until the Alameda County coroner’s office reaches a conclusion, the man remains a John Doe.
