A very strange story appeared in the Daily Record in Scotland, entitled “Woman sat dead in front of TV for 42 years.” I am quoting most of the story here because it is short.
The remains of a woman have been found sitting in front of her TV - 42 years after she was reported missing.
Hedviga Golik, who was born in 1924, had apparently made herself a cup of tea before sitting in her favourite armchair in front of her black and white television.
Croatian police said she was last seen by neighbours in 1966, when she would have been 42 years old.
Her neighbours thought she had moved out of her flat in the capital, Zagreb.
But she was found by police and bailiffs who had broken in to help the authorities establish who owned the flat.
A police spokesman said: “So far, we have no idea how it is possible that someone officially reported missing so long ago was not found before in the same apartment she used to live in.
“When officers went there, they said it was like stepping into a place frozen in time.
“The cup she had been drinking tea from was still on a table next to the chair she had been sitting in and the house was full of things no one had seen for decades. Nothing had been disturbed for decades, even though there were more than a few cobwebs in there.”
Neighbours were shocked by the discovery.
Jadranka Markic was nine when Hedviga “vanished”.
She said: “I still remember her. She was a quiet woman who kept herself to herself but was polite. We all thought that she had just moved out and gone to live with relatives.”
I am generally not a cynical person, but I am skeptical. After all, that is what I get paid to do. So let’s just say that there are a number of bits here that make me a little suspicious about the veracity of the story.
- That is one long lease
- Contradictions
- The smell
It’s been a while since I had dealings with a landlord, but I imagine someone patient enough to wait 42 years for a rent payment is a rare bird indeed.
On the other hand, I suppose she could have owned the apartment, and therefore didn’t have a landlord breathing down what was left of her neck. If that was the case, then it seems obvious that she would have real estate taxes that were way past due. Say what you will about the efficiency of bureaucracies, but one thing the all do well is collect taxes.
And don’t get me started with electric and other utility bills.
The police claim that there was a missing person report filed, and yet the neighbors just assumed she moved to Zagreb. If there was a missing person report, who made it? If it was family, and assuming they were too stupid to even look for her in her last known address, they surely would have gone back to clean out her place when she was formally declared dead, presumably sometime earlier than 42 years after the fact.
Not to put too fine a point on this, but decomposing bodies tend to be noticed by neighbors. The smell is pervasive and unforgettable. So we’re to believe that no one in the first month or so smelled anything amiss? I will concede that I don’t know anything about Croatian cuisine, so suppose it is possible that the odor might have mistaken for a pungent dinner. Then again, I suspect that “Decomposition Surprise” is not normal fare in that country.
In short, this story smells as bad as the subject of the story itself.
Thanks to Howard for the pointer.
CNN has more detailed information to answer your skepticism:
1. It was still unclear who was paying her bills the past 42 years
2. Police now say that no one ever reported her missing
3. The window was left open and that may explain why no odor was noticed
http://tinyurl.com/5rwwcs
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Governments have changed. War erupted and ended. Neighbors had children, and then grandchildren. But Hedviga Golik never left her tiny apartment in Croatia’s capital — until her mummified body was carried out this week, 35 years after she died.
Police said Friday that no one ever reported Golik missing and no one has come to claim her body.
Residents of her loft building in downtown Zagreb had broken into Golik’s flat after deciding that the apartment should belong to them, and not to her. Startled by the remains in bed, they called police.
Forensics experts said Golik likely died in 1973, about the time a neighbor last saw her. Expert Davor Strinovic said she seemed to have died of natural causes, but “it’s almost impossible to say for certain” after so much time.
Some of Golik’s neighbors claimed she had talked about going abroad.
Experts said her windows had been open, likely diminishing the smell. It remained unclear who — if anyone — was paying her bills and who exactly owned the apartment. In the 1970s, when Golik died, apartments were state-owned.
Neighbors now argue the apartment should be divided among the remaining tenants.
The discovery of Golik’s body on Tuesday prompted media debates on how it is possible for a woman to die so long ago without anyone noticing. One local journalist said it showed people were becoming more alienated.
“My dear neighbors! Please keep on being curious and a bit tiresome, as you have been so far,” Merita Arslani wrote in the Jutarnji list daily
Left by Hedviga Golik on June 21st, 2008
the tea would have evaporated after all those years
Left by one of your spawn on June 25th, 2008