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Coroner Explains How Woman Didn’t Notice Her Husband’s Body In Their House For 8 Months
A coroner has explained how a husband’s dead body went unnoticed in their house by his wife for eight months.
Richard Maedge was reported missing by his wife, Jennifer Maedge, in 2022, after he called her to say that he was leaving work early as he felt unwell.
When she arrived home to his car on the driveway, alongside his wallet, keys, and cards in the house, Jennifer assumed that her husband had returned home safely.
But when she found no sign of Richard himself, alarm bells began to ring.
When police came to search the house, there was no sign of Richard present at all.
But it seems the problem was with the state of the house, which was described by police as ‘sewer-like,’ because Richard’s body had been there the whole time.
His wife lived in the house for a further eight months, not knowing her husband’s dead body was present.
And it wasn’t until she started putting Christmas decorations up in their ‘hoarder home’ that she made a horrifying discovery.
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.”
A coroner’s court subsequently investigated the death, and found that Richard had died by suicide.
They also explained that Richard’s body had effectively been mummified over the months that had passed by.
While questions were raised about Jennifer smelling the body, the coroner revealed that the body was less likely to give off any foul odours, or give off less foul odours, which could have sooner led to his discovery.
Richard’s sister, Marilyn Toliver, was left furious that it took so long for her brother to be discovered.
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.”
She added: “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.”
Illinois police responded to Toliver’s concerns, in a statement which said: “There were no other injuries found during the autopsy examination or evidence found that would indicate anything nefarious regarding Mr Maedge’s death.”
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