“He was hit by a strong stench and alerted the police control room"
A 53-year-old woman has been detained after authorities discovered she had been living in her house with her mother’s corpse.
According to officials, the 83-year-old woman died in March 2020 and the daughter, who is said to have mental health issues failed to inform anyone.
Mariot Fernandes spent the lockdown with the body of her 83-year-old mother hidden under a bed in their 1,500 sqft cottage in Khar’s Chuim village, Mumbai.
On November 20, 2020, the police visited Mariot’s home after getting a call from her neighbours.
The woman’s neighbours had reported that she was throwing household and personal waste outside her window.
The neighbours also alleged that they could hear strange sounds coming from Mariot’s cottage.
A police officer reached the spot to look into the allegations and rang her doorbell.
While no one answered the door, he could hear sounds coming from the house.
Following this, the officer noticed that the door was open and he stepped in.
When the officer entered a bedroom, he found a woman sitting on a cot and underneath it saw what looked like a person covered with a blanket.
When he asked the woman about it, she murmured something which the officer was not able to comprehend.
When he tried to lift the sheet, he found it was stuck to a body, which turned out to be mostly skeletal remains.
An officer stated: “He was hit by a strong stench and alerted the police control room and called for an ambulance. The body was sent for post mortem.”
While examining the documents found in the house and after making inquiries with neighbours, the deceased was identified as Evon Fernandes and the woman as her daughter Mariot Fernandes.
Locals said Evon’s husband had died in 2000.
Police said Evon has three children. Her other daughter is in Canada while her son lives in Dubai. Mariot first told the cops the son in Dubai.
Neighbours who witnessed Mariot being taken to the police station on November 20, 2020, stated that the woman was a recluse who found it difficult to make friendships.
An anonymous neighbour shared:
“This could be the reason she didn’t reach out to her neighbours when her mother died.”
“She had no friends and probably didn’t know what to do.
“We would have arranged for her mother’s funeral. She was a lovely lady.”
A senior police officer said: “We have spoken to relatives who have asked us to perform the last rites of the deceased as they will not be able to attend the funeral.
“We have sent Mariot to JJ Hospital where she is getting help for her health issues.”
Mumbai police have registered an accidental death report and are awaiting the post-mortem findings.
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