Mom's Body Found Decomposing In Bedroom For A Year, Kids Hid Her Death: 'Nothing Left But Bones'
A 56-year-old Nashville woman was found dead and fully decomposed in her apartment while authorities were proceeding with an eviction notice, according to local news.
The body of Laronda Jolly, who lived with her four adult children, was found in the bedroom, lying on the bed under a pile of clothes. The children, all of whom are intellectually disabled, according to police, were continuing to live in the apartment along with the decomposing corpse, which investigators are estimating to have been dead for more than one — and possibly up to two — years.
The deceased's brother, Anthony Jolly, claims she may have been dead for even longer than that. “There was nothing left but bones, it was just a skeleton,” he explained. When he called his niece and asked how long his sister had been dead, "She said since early 2017 — I was shocked," he said.
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Jolly said he wasn't close to his sister, but that he did call to check up on her. After being told repeatedly by his nieces and nephews — who ranged in age from late 20s to 30 — that their mom wasn't there or couldn't be visited at the moment, he asked police to perform a wellness check.
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Officers attempted in August, but did not find her at home, as she was hidden by the children in the bedroom. “She was on a bed, they piled clothes on top of her body and they stayed in the apartment with their decaying mother,” Jolly related to WKRN, saying that his nieces and nephews were supposedly following their mother's wishes not to disturb her.
“They knew better, but they were going by what their mother said, they were obeying their mother’s wishes — just let her lay there, no matter what. Don’t call anybody, and that’s what they done.”
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“For them to stay in that apartment with your own mother’s decaying body, I can’t understand it — and I guess I never will understand it,” he told WSMV.
The cause of death is still pending, and will likely remain pending due to the state of decomposition, but officials don't suspect foul play at this time.