Woman’s body found weeks after death in shared home

A woman’s decomposing body, after lying for weeks in the hallway of the home she shared with a man, was discovered by a relative after the man was detained for medical evaluation.

The gruesome discovery of the 61-year-old woman’s body was made on Saturday by a family member of a 55-year-old man who lived with her at a house in New Town, north Hobart.

Tasmanian Police Detective Inspector David Gill said police and members of the acute mental health team went to the property on Saturday morning to take him for a mental health assessment but did not enter the cluttered home.

“The mental health team and police spoke to the male individual at the residence where he was immediately detained for a mental health assessment and transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital,” he told reporters.

“Later that day another person went to the address to visit and found the dead woman’s body on the ground.”

Det Insp Gill said it was clear the woman had been dead inside the house for several weeks.

“The male individual has not made any statement whatsoever to members of Tasmania Police,” he said.

Det Insp Gill confirmed the man’s mental health referral had been made by someone else and said he was being held at Hobart Reception Prison following the completion of his treatment while investigations continued.

“He has not been charged with any crime at this stage,” he said.

The house the couple had shared for a while was “chaotic” and everywhere was a mess.

“When police attend any scene where a person has died it is obviously confronting and distressing and this was no different,” Det Insp Gill said.

Police are treating the woman’s death as suspicious, considering she had been dying at home for weeks, but are keeping open the possibility that she died of natural causes.

An autopsy will be performed on Monday to determine the woman’s cause of death.

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