Australian woman lay dead in house for up to eight years

The skeletal remains of a woman whose death went unnoticed for eight years have been found in suburban Sydney. Police discovered the corpse of the elderly woman, who died in 2003, after a call from her only known relative — a sister-in-law from whom she was estranged.

The woman, Natalie Wood, who would have been aged 86, was still receiving a pension but the house’s electricity had long been disconnected. Her remains were found on the upstairs bedroom floor of her terrace home in the gentrified suburb of Surry Hills, a short walk from Sydney’s Central station.


Photo from here.

Police said they were contacted on Tuesday by Ms Wood’s dead brother’s sister who had tried to make contact with her to pass on some family information. Family relations were “fractious” and the women had not been in contact since 2003.

“Something occurred within the family that I can’t go into that forced her to make contact,” acting superintendent Zoran Dzevlan said. “There are no other relatives alive except the sister-in-law ... It’s a tragic thing to find. Tragic.” Neighbours said Ms Wood had not seen for 20 years and they believed the house was abandoned.