On Thursday, a medical examiner ruled that an Illinois man who went missing for several months before being found dead in his own home died by suicide.
On April 27, 2022, Jennifer Maedge reported her husband Richard missing, after he seemingly disappeared into thin air. His keys, wallet and car were at their home in Troy, Illinois, but for months he was nowhere to be found, KTVI-TV reported.
The day before he went missing, he called his wife, saying he was leaving work early. She didn’t hear from him again. Over the next several months, the residents of the home made some disconcerting observations.
While searching the residence, police noticed a “sewer-like” odor inside the house and described the place as a “hoarder home,” according to KTVI. Maedge called police again to report an odd smell, but when they arrived, they claimed the odor seemed the same as before.
A visiting family member later complained of the terrible smell as well as the unusual number of flies present in the home.
A plumber was eventually called to the home, and the odor was identified as sewer gas, coming up from an uncapped pipe in the basement. After the pipe was capped, the smell vanished.
However, on Dec. 11, Maedge made a horrifying discovery while searching for Christmas decorations in a storage area under a stairway in the home, finding her husband’s mummified body.
Although the discovery was immensely disturbing, Maedge has some peace knowing what happened to her husband, telling KTVI that, while Richard may be gone, she could feel his presence.
“He will be deeply missed,” she said. “Even though we didn’t want the outcome that we had, it’s still an outcome that we can, you know, put him to rest.”
The cause of death was not immediately shared, but no mention of suspected foul play was made.
It wasn’t until Thursday that Madison County Coroner Steve Nonn released a report stating that Richard died by suicide, according to KTVI.
In a phone interview with KTVI, Kelly Rogers, the chief deputy coroner, explained that Maedge’s body had advanced beyond decomposition and was in a mummified state. A body reaches the mummification phase when the fluids are dried up or removed from the skin. Rogers, said that a mummified body may not have a strong odor, which would explain why it took so long for Richard Maedge to be found.
Some in the family believe that the police department failed to find Richard’s body and should be held accountable for that failure, including Richard’s brother-in-law, Van Toliver, who voiced his concerns during a city council meeting in December.
“I just find it unfathomable to see how a police department failed this badly,” Toliver said, according to the Times-Tribune. “I talked to Jenn, his spouse, and she said that detectives never searched the house; it was patrol cops. … Me and my wife have called on numerous occasions complaining about the odor coming from the house and the flies.”
Police Chief Brent Shownes responded by providing a list of actions taken to try to find Richard, which included searches of the home using a tracking K-9 and several cadaver dogs, reviewing surveillance footage from neighbors, and following up on over 30 tips, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.
Jennifer, however, said she was satisfied with measures taken by police and hopes to move on and grieve the loss of her husband.
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