The true tragedy of this story is that nobody missed her.
She could not have had any family, or surely someone would have seriously gone looking for her? And nobody even tried to claim the property under the assumption that she had moved out (a child or sibling maybe).
I've heard of people lying dead without being found for a few months in this country, which is bad enough, but 42 years - that's my entire lifetime! It truly is very sad.
She must have led a very isolated and lonely life for that to happen to her.
