New Owner of Home Sold at Auction Finds Dead Body of Previous Resident Inside

District Heights, MD — The new owner of a home in PG County, Maryland that was sold at auction was shocked to discover the body of the woman who previously lived there still inside the home.

According to a long-time neighbor, the woman who used to live there had special needs. “As we grew up into adults, she never grew up. So she needed help with things and didn’t process things as well as an adult would, even though she was an adult,” he told NBC.

He said the woman’s grandmother was the one taking care of her until the grandmother died in 2018. Since then, they tried to check on her to make sure that she had food and other things she needed.

The neighbor added that a caretaker and some family members used to visit her at the house, but they stopped a few months ago. “Naturally we thought that she was gone with the family,” he said.

He said that the utilities were also cut off after the foreclosure.

“We didn’t know, and it’s said that she was in the house,” he said. “I know they cut utilities. I know there’s no power in there. I’m not sure if there was water in there, but I’m pretty sure if they cut the electricity, they cut the heat, too.”

Police said they are conducting a death investigation, citing there was no sign of foul play. Police have since contacted the woman’s family. Her body is undergoing an autopsy and it has yet been confirmed how long ago the woman died.

“If we knew that she was still in there, we would have at least knocked on the door,” the neighbor said. “We would have at least asked her is everything okay.”