Advertisement

Blind hoarder lived with skeletal remains of son 'for as long as 20 years'

A legally blind woman who lived with the skeletal remains of her son, possibly for as long as 20 years, was a hoarder and may not have even known he was there.

The New York Post reports the man’s skeleton was found by a relative in a second-floor bedroom filled with rubbish, in the home where Rita Wolfensohn has lived since her husband died in 1987.

Sister-in-law Josette Buchman found the ‘completely intact’ skeleton wearing jeans and a shirt, lying on a thin mattress under the floor, according to NYPD sources.

Ms Buchman had gone to pick up Wolfensohn to take her to hospital after a fall, according to reports.

The room smelt of rotting food, but not of decaying flesh, police said.

An unnamed law enforcement official told The Post it was "like some reverse ‘Psycho’ scene."

Police sources say that the woman may not have known her son was dead.

The room was filled with spider webs and piles of rubbish, and looked as if ‘a garbage truck had dumped its load,’ NYPD sources told the New York Post.

When police questioned Wolfensohn, she acted as if she believed her son had simply moved out.

Relatives said they had not seen the man, Louis, in 20 years.

Louis once worked as a cab driver, according to reports.

According to Buchman and her husband (Wolfensohn's brother), Wolfensohn had been estranged from many family members for years.

The investigation into Louis’ death is ongoing, but authorities believe he died of natural causes and that Sunday would've been his 49th birthday.

Wolfensohn's other son Michael died at the age of 38 in 2003, court documents revealed.

News break – September 28