Stockholm man lay dead in flat for 18 months
Police trying to evict a man from an apartment in central Stockholm were shocked to find his body inside, estimating that the man had died 18 months ago.
Local police found the man's body after Sweden's Enforcement Agency (Kronofogden) asked for help in evicting him from his Kungsholmen flat.
The man's bills were being paid by direct debit, and none of his friends, relatives or neighbours noticed that he had not left the house over the past year and a half. Police traced unopened mail and food products inside the house to February of last year.
"Society is getting harsher and harsher," Viktor Adolphson of the Stockholm police told the Nyheter24 news website, adding that the police do not suspect foul play.
"When someone has been lying there for so long it's impossible for police to determine the cause of death at the scene," Adolphson added.
While such cases are "highly unusual", according to the officer, he said that it does raise questions.
"How to people look after their neighbours?" he asked the paper.
"Don't people notice that they've not seen the person next door for 18 months? I'm not being critical, just reflecting on how these things work."
The case is not the first of its kind in Sweden. In late May, the body of a man in his fifties was found in a south Stockholm flat. It was estimated that he died two years previously.
TT/The Local/og
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Local police found the man's body after Sweden's Enforcement Agency (Kronofogden) asked for help in evicting him from his Kungsholmen flat.
The man's bills were being paid by direct debit, and none of his friends, relatives or neighbours noticed that he had not left the house over the past year and a half. Police traced unopened mail and food products inside the house to February of last year.
"Society is getting harsher and harsher," Viktor Adolphson of the Stockholm police told the Nyheter24 news website, adding that the police do not suspect foul play.
"When someone has been lying there for so long it's impossible for police to determine the cause of death at the scene," Adolphson added.
While such cases are "highly unusual", according to the officer, he said that it does raise questions.
"How to people look after their neighbours?" he asked the paper.
"Don't people notice that they've not seen the person next door for 18 months? I'm not being critical, just reflecting on how these things work."
The case is not the first of its kind in Sweden. In late May, the body of a man in his fifties was found in a south Stockholm flat. It was estimated that he died two years previously.
TT/The Local/og
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