A 12-year-old boy has been left traumatized and scared to sleep alone after a woman’s dead boy lay next door for two and a half years.
According to reports, 58-year-old Sheila Seleoane died in August 2019 but her remains were only found in February 2022.
Residents complained to the housing association Peabody Housing multiple times about the foul odor coming from her apartment but nothing was done.
The remains of the woman were only found when police finally knocked down her door after years of complaints from neighbors.
Chialuzue, 12, said he was still scared to sleep alone after the horrifying discovery.
“Ever since the police came to knock down the door I’ve been sleeping with my Mum because I’m too scared to sleep alone,” he told BBC.
“I don’t feel like coming back home, because I don’t want to get reminded of what happened.”
Chialuzue said that the discovery has affected his studies. “Every time I do an assessment, I just think about what happened and it brings me down,” he added.
Chantel, a neighbor who lived in an apartment below Sheila’s said larvae took over her flat and said the experience was like ‘living in a horror movie.’
“I’ve got them in the bedroom, the living room, and the bathroom. And more or less all over my furniture,” she told BBC.
“You’d sit down on the sofa and after a period of time you’d find a squashed maggot.”
Donatus Okeke, another neighbor, said his family tried to put sheets and towels under the door to keep the foul smell out but nothing worked.
“We couldn’t even sleep in the flat. You couldn’t even eat because it was a very, very bad odor,” he expressed.
Lyesha, who lived on the same floor, said that ‘nobody came’ despite her complaints that ‘there’s a smell of death.’
Sheila’s death was not deemed suspicious.
A Peabody spokesperson said in a statement: “In February last year, we realized that Sheila Seleoane had died in her flat and had remained there for more than two years. We were, and remain, devastated that this could have happened.
“We must and will learn from what happened to make sure we always put our residents first and that this never happens again.”
It added: “We are so sorry that this happened. Clearly we still have a long way to go. We’re continuing to try and find new homes for residents who wish to move.”
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