They led a secluded life in the British town of Bracknell, west of London. It wasn’t until a janitor called the locksmith that the bodies of an 84-year-old British woman and her 60-year-old son were found on the living room sofa.
That happened in January, but the investigation has only now been completed. According to the British BBC, the mother and son sat lifeless on the furniture for weeks. Their bodies were in a distant state of decomposition.
The older woman was diagnosed with hypothermia as the cause of death by coroners. But it was not possible to control what caused the death of the son.
The investigation revealed that the two had not spoken to family members for years. Both were found only scantily dressed, BBC writes. The visually impaired son had 1,000 pounds (1,100 euros) in his pocket.
A newspaper dated December 2, 2019, was found in the trash can of the apartment, but the exact death of the mother and son could not be determined. It was also no longer possible to find out whether they died simultaneously or after each other, a coroner said in court.
The two were found when construction workers wanted to renovate the housing complex in Bracknell. They rang the bell repeatedly in mid-January, but when no one opened the door, the concierge called a locksmith.
The apartment was barely furnished, the researchers report. Nor did it have heating. The electricity was also turned off. The detectives looked at different scenarios, but no evidence of an intruder or the use of force was found.