Woman sat dead in front of her TV for 42 years!

[Pvt. Michael J. Caboose]

Yep, you that that correctly

The remains of a woman have been found sitting in front of her TV - 42 years after she was reported missing.

Hedviga Golik, who was born in 1924, had apparently made herself a cup of tea before sitting in her favourite armchair in front of her black and white television.

Croatian police said she was last seen by neighbours in 1966, when she would have been 42 years old.
Her neighbours thought she had moved out of her flat in the capital, Zagreb.

But she was found by police and bailiffs who had broken in to help the authorities establish who owned the flat.

A police spokesman said: "So far, we have no idea how it is possible that someone officially reported missing so long ago was not found before in the same apartment she used to live in.

"When officers went there, they said it was like stepping into a place frozen in time. The cup she had been drinking tea from was still on a table next to the chair she had been sitting in and the house was full of things no one had seen for decades. Nothing had been disturbed for decades, even though there were more than a few cobwebs in there."

Neighbours were shocked by the discovery.

Jadranka Markic was nine when Hedviga "vanished".

She said: "I still remember her. She was a quiet woman who kept herself to herself but was polite. We all thought that she had just moved out and gone to live with relatives."

Source

[skyman747]

And I thought the American Police were complete Morons.

I would actually like to walk into the apartment. Be interesting to see what it looks like.

[zoidy]

Thats some good work boys ... i like the way the Croatian police never say "why they didn't look in her appartment", i can see it now!

Its like the classic sketch where you go round someone's house late at night and say the following:

"I'll knock quietly"

But the whole point in going round was to wake them up so why not just knock loudly!?

Thats probably what the police did! lol

[yoshi7]

It's just plain crazy that not one person thought to check in her flat!

[Nicko]

Did she die watching the '66 WC Final?

[biddenden_sue]

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.

[Venerable(ish)Bede]

True Sue. The difficulty with stories such as these is the limit to which we can know the real story (most of the stories are dated mid last month). It appears that the neighbours had tried on several occasions to get into the flat but were refused access.

[biddenden_sue]

By whom?

Several years ago, we had a neighbour who was a widower - he was only 63 and lived alone.

One morning I noticed he had not taken his milk in from the doorstep, and by lunchtime, another neighbour was concerned because they noticed he had not pulled back the curtains or opened any windows.

We contacted his son, who did not normally visit very often, but by early evening, he had brought a policeman along to witness his actions, as he smashed the kitchen window and broke into the house.

He found his father dead in his bed. He had a massive heart attack the previous night. But it was less than 24 hours afterwards that his death was discovered.

How on earth can it take anyone 42 years to get into the place and find a person dead?!?

There are several factors which must have made neighbours suspicious - not least the post piling up behind the door, or the services being cut off through non-payment of bills, or even (although not nice to speak of) the smell!

I beleive it was a flat - well, I'm amazed that residents of neighbouring flats could not smell anything unpleasant.

[ynneBenny]

How sad.

[Venerable(ish)Bede]

Originally Posted by biddenden_sue

By whom?

How on earth can it take anyone 42 years to get into the place and find a person dead?!?

I beleive it was a flat - well, I'm amazed that residents of neighbouring flats could not smell anything unpleasant.

Apparently, the police wouldn't enter the flat in the 90s (no reason given) and only entered recently because of tennancy changes. Furthermore, apparently all the windows were open (therefore no smell) and the woman was found on her bed. The womans age and time of dissappearance vary from article to article (1966-67).

So other articles would have it anyway.