A man from Illinois who was reported missing in April last year was found dead and decomposed eight months later in a closet in his home by his wife.
The body was taken to the coroner’s office in Madison County, which confirmed last week that 53-year-old Richard Maedge had committed suicide.
The 53-year-old man was reported missing by his wife, Jennifer Maedge, on April 27. She told the police he had called to tell her he would leave work early. When she returned to their home on Oak Street, she could not find or contact him even though his car was parked outside the house.
Jennifer called the police, who searched the home but could not locate the man. Jennifer later noticed a strange odor in the house and called the police again. They did a second search at the home but did not find him either.
During the second search, the Chief Deputy Coroner in Madison County, Kelly Rogers, said that authorities noted a “sewer-like” smell inside the home but described it as a “hoarder home.”
The family got a plumber who described the smell as “sewer gas.” He secured one of the sewer pipes in the basement, and it seemed to get rid of the bad odor.
After almost eight months, the wife finally found her husband’s body on December 11. She told the police she was looking for Christmas decorations in a concealed closet and found his body inside.
Coroner Rogers told reporters that the body had gone beyond the decomposition stage and was found in a mummified state. He said that because the body fluids had dried up, the odor was not very strong, which could explain why it had taken that long to find the man.
The coroner’s report released on Thursday, March 2, confirmed Maedge’s manner of death as suicide. The coroner also indicated that they had not found any evidence of foul play during the autopsy.
Mrs. Maedge said that the family held a funeral for her husband in January. She said it was easy for the police to miss his body during the two searches because it was in a hidden closet.
