A 64-year-old man’s body was found decomposing in his family’s Pennsylvania home for six months – while they continued to live there – according to authorities.
A relative of Michael Bebout called the Greene County Regional Police Department for a welfare check at his home on Hayes Avenue in Canton Township, Pennsylvania, only for authorities to make a gruesome discovery.
At least three family members were living in the home with Bebout’s remains for approximately six months, police said. The body was found on January 16 and appeared to have been there since the summer.
“Upon arrival, we met the brother. The brother was distraught and basically stated that his brother had passed away,” Greene County Regional Police Chief William DeForte said, according to WPXI. “That’s where things took a turn, a very interesting turn.”
The home was in “awful” condition, he said.
“There was wall-to-wall dog feces. The situation looked like a hoarder had lived there, and the odor was extraordinarily unpleasant,” De Forte said, according to Fox8 Live.
Authorities didn’t believe foul play was involved in Bebout’s death. But they are investigating his financial situation.
“This usually happens when you have a decedent that had passed away and was left in the house by friends and family,” DeForte said. “They are normally taking advantage of the residence and/or the financial situation.”
Investigators will be looking into his social security checks, retirement checks and his bank accounts to see whether any checks had been illegally cashed after he died, he said.
