Mary Notarangelo lived a reclusive life in her later years, according to the few people who had contact. The retired police detective tended to many birds at her Connecticut home and posted videos of them on social media. But a welfare check request to police last July uncovered hoarding conditions in her Glastonbury home. And it wasn't until February that a work crew using a small excavator discovered her skeletal remains, found beneath a pile of debris heaped just inside her front door, according to a police report released Wednesday, per the AP.
Glastonbury police said conditions in the single-family home set off a rural road in the woods were among the worst they've seen and hindered several search attempts. Officers said there were 6-foot-tall "mountains" of garbage blocking entrance doors. Dead birds were found in cages, along with mice running about and a live cat, and there was a terrible stench. "Once inside, I observed more mountains of garbage, cobwebs, and spiders," Officer Anthony Longo wrote in the report. "There was no path whatsoever. The only way to move from room to room was by climbing over the garbage."
It's not clear how Notarangelo died. At 73, she was a retired Bridgeport police detective and longtime Wiccan, according to officials and friends. Her death was first reported by Hearst Connecticut Media Group earlier Wednesday. The state medical examiner's office said her cause of death couldn't be determined because the remains were mostly skeletal. A friend had called police to request the welfare check on July 3. He told investigators Notarangelo last texted him around June 12 of last year saying she was having abdominal cramps, vomiting, and had fallen. It's not clear why the friend—who didn't return phone and text messages—waited for weeks to call authorities.
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It's also not clear why it took seven months to find her remains, although several attempts had been made; officials cited the mounds of trash and other items. "It's so upsetting and so sad," said friend Patti Steeves, who worked with Notarangelo at the Bridgeport Police Department years ago. "As quirky as she was, she was a good person at heart." Steeves said she tried to talk with Notarangelo about the hoarding, but Notarangelo wouldn't discuss it. More here.
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