Dead Body Sat in Front of the TV for a Year
According to the Associated Press in the Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/484/story/1008988.html , in Hampton Bays, New York, the partially mummified body of Vincenzo Ricardo, 70, has been found in a chair in front of his television, which was still on. Ricardo apparently died of natural causes, said Dr. Stuart Dawson, Suffolk County's deputy chief medical examiner, over a year ago. Police were called to the house to investigate a report about burst water pipes. Morgue assistant, Jeff Bacchus said that the home's dry air had preserved his features and that he still had hair on his head. Neighbors said they had thought Ricardo was in a hospital or nursing home.
According to Reuters http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2007-02-17T211521Z_01_N17362175_RTRUKOC_0_US-DEATH-TELEVISION.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-R1-MostViewed-3 , Ricardo had not been heard from since December 2005. Officials could not explain why the electricity had not been turned off. Ricardo was diabetic and had been blind for years and neighbors said they assumed he was in the hospital or a long-term care facility