Man lived at home where woman’s ‘skeletonized’ body rested for months, Texas cops say

A woman’s body was discovered in a Texas home Monday, June 26, and authorities believe she had been dead for months.

Deputies were sent to the home just outside Houston after a man called 911 to report a death. The man who called is a relative of the victim and lived at the home alongside her, Harris County senior deputy Thomas Gilliland said during a news briefing.

The relative told responding deputies the woman “had been here for quite a while deceased,” Gilliland said. When deputies found the body, they discovered it was “skeletonized and decomposed,” authorities said.

A cause of death has not been determined. Homicide investigators were called to the home, but it’s unclear if the woman was killed.

Asked how long the body was in the home, Gilliland said it had been decomposing for “at least months.” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez initially said the woman was dead “for an extended period of time.”

Authorities said the man who placed the 911 call is being medically evaluated at a hospital.

“It’s a bit unusual, but we’ve had those cases before where people have been inside, or reside in homes, maybe elderly, and they don’t have anyone to care for them,” Gilliland said.

Authorities have been unable to talk with the man to determine why the body had been in the home for so long, according to the sheriff’s office. There were no reports of a missing person or reports of a foul odor.

A neighbor told KTRK she had not seen the woman “in a very, very long time.”

“We thought maybe she wasn’t here anymore,” the neighbor, Jennifer Jones, told KRIV. “Maybe she had already passed away. Nobody really thought about it because we didn’t see her. Nothing happens at that house. Nobody goes there, nobody comes out. That’s just how it’s always been.”

This story was originally published June 27, 2023 at 9:51 AM with the headline "Man lived at home where woman’s ‘skeletonized’ body rested for months, Texas cops say."