The mummified body of a man believed to have been dead for around 15 years was discovered in an apartment in Valencia, Spain, German news agency dpa reported.
The shocking discovery occurred in the La Fuensanta neighborhood when firefighters and police entered the sixth-floor unit through a window to investigate flooding caused by heavy rainfall, according to Spanish TV stations RTVE and Antena 3 on Monday.
Authorities’ preliminary investigation identified the man as Antonio, who is believed to have died in 2010 at the age of 70 or 71.
The body, which had mummified over time, was found fully clothed in the bedroom, surrounded by pigeons, bird carcasses, insects, and heaps of garbage. The apartment door was locked from the inside, and no signs of foul play were detected.
Spain’s National Police suspect the death occurred from natural causes, though an autopsy will be conducted to gather further information.
Neighbors were shocked to learn they had been living in the same building as a corpse for 15 years. Those who knew Antonio described him as a solitary individual who rarely socialized.
He lived apart from his family and had minimal interaction with the local community.
“We thought he had moved to a nursing home because we never saw him,” one neighbor told Antena 3.
“We didn’t even know him here. We are all still shocked,” another added to El País.
Reports indicate that Antonio’s death went unnoticed partly because his monthly bills continued to be paid, and neighbors regularly cleared his perpetually full mailbox.
