A mentally ill woman was found living with the body of her decomposing mother in their Phoenix home on Monday night. It is understood the 68-year-old woman was living with her 47-year-old daughter.
The mother, 68, was last seen on Friday 20 August when she returned home from shopping. The daughter, 47, told a private security company, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), who responded to neighbours’ distress calls, that her mother collapsed shortly after arriving home.
The woman then helped her mother to bed, where the older woman reportedly fell asleep.
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Neighbours grew concerned when they didn’t see the mother in the days that followed. When questioned, the daughter said her mother was still asleep after Friday’s shopping trip. They saw the mother’s body on the bed partially covered by a blanket.
RUSA members say the mother’s body had already begun decomposing when they arrived.
Even after the mother’s body was taken away, according to RUSA’s spokesperson Prem Balram, the daughter still hadn’t accepted her mother’s death and believed she was asleep.
The daughter is now in the care of her neighbours and extended family.
An investigation into the elderly woman’s death is underway.
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