AUSTRALIA: Another Lonely Death Discovered In Sydney - Woman in 70s Lived Alone For 30 Years

SYDNEY (Sydney Morning Herald), January 18, 2008: An elderly woman could have been dead inside her western Sydney home for up to two months before her body was found today. Neighbour Andrew Artinian told the Nine Network he last saw the woman, aged in her 70s and known so far only as Mary, out shopping about two months ago. Concerned neighbours called police to the woman's Belmore home, where she lived alone, after its yard became overgrown and mail started piling up. Police say they found the woman's body, in an advanced state of decomposition, after forcing their way into the house about 9.30am (AEDT) today. No one had reported Mary missing or come forward after today's discovery, police said. Elderly neighbour Grace Gill told the Seven Network: "It's terrible to think that somebody was in there on their own with nobody to worry about them." Mary had lived in the house for more than 30 years but kept to herself and was not known to have visitors, neighbours said. Earlier this month the body of a 64-year-old man, who died unnoticed up to a year ago, was found inside his Yagoona unit in western Sydney. A spate of seven similar unnoticed deaths occurred in Sydney in early 2006. Copyright © 2008. The Sydney Morning Herald.