Mostly when I turn on the news in Detroit, it’s the usual corruption, a few murders, something about the Red Wings, and the meteorologist laughing as he tells me more snow is coming. This story, however, actually made me pay attention because it was almost jokingly implausible. A woman was found in her garage, in the backseat of her Jeep, mummified, for SIX years. Via WXYZ ABC Detroit:
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says an autopsy has been performed on the body of the woman that was found in the back seat of her Jeep years after her death.
The Oakland County medical examiner told deputies that there was no trauma to the body and that a cause of death is still pending.
“It’s been about three years since any activity has been at that house,” said one neighbor who wished to remain anonymous.
“When’s the last time anyone has seen her? About six years ago,” said another neighbor, Caitlyn Talbot.
The neighbor says there has been no activity in three years, but she has been there for six years? What was the activity that happened three years ago?
Caitlyn said everyone thought the owner moved.
But on Wednesday, neighbors found out the owner has been right there the whole time, inside the garage, dead in the backseat of her Jeep.
“Nobody came over there to check on the lady. It’s weird. And it’s actually scary,” said the neighbor who wished to remain anonymous.
That’s what initially interested me. She was in her garage dead for six years, and no one came by? The mail didn’t pile up? Free newspaper ads didn’t pile up in her driveway? I don’t like any of my neighbors, but I notice them all of the time, especially if there is no activity at their house for a week. What was this woman like before she died?
“She was probably there for a couple of days, then she’d leave for a week, then she’d come back. Then she’d leave for a month and come back,” said Caitlyn.
Caitlyn said the home is going into foreclosure and it was a contractor working on the house who found her dead.
Another neighbor said about 8 years ago, Pontiac Police kicked in the front door to do a welfare check on the woman. Officers didn’t find her, but found her dog and cat alive and took them to an animal shelter. The neighbor says they believe she returned later.
About 2 years ago, that same neighbor called the city after hearing the house was going to be torn down. He said the city told him there was just a complaint about the roof. The neighbor says he then complained about the roof to the mortgage company’s property restoration division and that’s when they sent out a crew to make repairs.
She just disappeared and left her pets to fend for themselves? Not cool, mysterious lady that haunts my soul. This neighbor seems to really love being nosey and calling about another neighbor’s house. Again, no one checked on her for six years. Does she have any sort of family that got pissed off that she keeps sending them all straight to voicemail?
We spoke with Pia’s sister by phone. Her sister is still living in the Boston area where she said they were born and raised. They have eight other brothers and sisters. Most of the brothers and sisters have passed, and so have their parents. She said everyone stayed nearby except Pia who moved away to Pontiac.
The sister said Pia didn’t work for an auto company. She said Pia worked for a bank that sent her all over the world for work for months at a time. She said she has been trying to get in touch with Pia in recent years but the phone would just ring and ring. The sister said she has heard from news reports that the neighbors thought Pia had a son, but the sister said that as far as she knows, Pia never had a son.
First, if it was a home phone it would ring and ring, maybe, if the bill was paid, or else there would be an automated message that says it’s disconnected. Second, if they called her cellphone, it would probably be dead and would go straight to voicemail, or, since unpaid, it would have a similar disconnection, or have a new person on the other end since the phone number has been unused for six years. How has it taken six years for this house to foreclose? Via ABC News:
“She had $54,000 in her account and her bills were being deducted,” Undersheriff Mike McCabe told The Associated Press. “Eventually, the money ran out and her house went into foreclosure.”
Sounds reasonable, I guess. She was found in her Jeep. Did she own that Jeep? Did she make payments on it? Via CNN:
The woman, who authorities aren’t identifying until they’ve informed her family, paid her bills from her bank account through auto-pay, according to McCabe.
Alright, so, she had her mortgage and her car on auto-pay. She had over $50,000 in the bank at the time she died. She has more of her life put together dead than I do alive! But here goes around of spitfire questions that haven’t been explained:
Why was she in the backseat of her own Jeep?
Why were the keys in the ignition, but in the off position?
How did she die?
How come her company she worked for didn’t say anything?
Did she quit her job from that company?
How did all her other brothers and sisters die? (Come on, that’s a lot of deaths)
Did she or did she not have a son?
How could her family be unaware of her having a son or not?
Being from Michigan, and her house going through the seasons, how did her pipes not freeze? I’ve seen it dozens of times in abandoned houses while working in Detroit.
How did her house not go through worse wear and tear without maintenance?
Where’s all her mail?
Was her mail held back because she travelled so much?
If she had a P.O. Box, would she have to pay for that, too? Six years in advance? Was that auto-pay? Wouldn’t the post office find it odd that they have six years of mail piled up?
Where are her friends? Did she not have a single one?
What happened to the dog and cat?!
Her Mother died and no one really tried to get a hold of her for the funeral?
What caused such strained ties with her entire family?
Hot summers in Pontiac, and no one smelled a dead body?
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And the questions of this story go on and on. I really hope they find some answers to this case. The whole thing makes me create complex conspiracy theories in my head. This is probably because The Americans came back on and I look at everyone like they’re a spy. Or maybe season 2 of True Detective?! YES!
Via WXYZ Detroit, ABC News, CNN