More than seven months after she was reported missing, a former police detective who was 73 years old was discovered dead in her Connecticut house, which was packed with piles of rubbish, according to sources.
Following the publication of a police report on Wednesday, June 18, the skeletal remains of Mary Notarangelo were found in her home in Glastonbury in February. This came after several efforts had been made to find her since July 2024, according to reports from CT Insider, ABC News, and WFSB, which is affiliated with CBS.
Previous searches for the woman, who had retired from the Bridgeport Police Department in 1996, had been hampered by the presence of hoarding conditions. However, an excavator and a work crew were brought in, and they discovered Notarangelo buried beneath a pile of debris close to the front door of the building, which had six feet of trash at the entrance, as reported by ABC News. garbage, dead birds in cages, and live mice were all found inside the residence, which was also cluttered with garbage. It was reported by the source that the state medical examiner’s office was unable to pinpoint the cause of death due to the fact that the majority of her remains included bone tissue.
PEOPLE’s requests for comment were not immediately met with a response from the Glastonbury Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, or the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
In an interview with CT Insider, the Chief of the Glastonbury Police Department, Marshall Porter, described the incident as “tragic and very strange.”
According to ABC News, the retired detective’s companion made a request for a welfare check on July 3, 2024. This request came after Notarangelo contacted him on June 12, 2024, stating that she was feeling stomach discomfort, vomiting, and had collapsed. According to a report by CT Insider, Porter said that cops made repeated attempts to search the residence, but they were unable to do so because of the crowded conditions inside.
In an interview with the publication, he said, “I’ve never seen such deplorable conditions.” In addition, personnel from Connecticut’s environmental agency, a cadaver dog, a biohazard collection business, and a drone were sent in to assist with the investigation. According to CT Insider, the collection business was ultimately successful in retrieving Notarangelo’s remains when they paid a second visit to the location.
An acquaintance and former coworker named Patti Steeves expressed her feelings to ABC News, saying, “It’s so upsetting and so sad.” She was a lovely person at heart, despite the fact that she had a strange personality.
“She had a deep connection to her religious beliefs. According to the site, Steeves proceeded by saying that she attempted to speak to Notarangelo about her hoarding, but she refused to listen to her. Steeves said that she was enthusiastic about her profession.
“She have a wonderful sense of humor. And she had a big heart for her pets. Steeves continued by saying, “She loved her animals just as much as she loved herself.”