Tragic: For about fourteen days, no one noticed that a pensioner and father of three had died alone in St. Martin im Mühlkreis (Upper Austria). A concerned neighbor finally raised the alarm and the police found the body of the 69-year-old.
The mail had been piling up in the mailbox of the rather “hidden” single-family home in St. Martin im Mühlkreis for two weeks – so long that the postman became concerned about the pensioner who lived alone. A neighbor who noticed that the blinds were always closed eventually raised the alarm. When the police officers entered the home, it quickly became clear why no one had picked up the mail: the 69-year-old had died some time ago.
No cheating
“The occupant of the home died of natural causes approximately two weeks before he was found,” police said. A “safe” death without any third-party fault.
“I didn’t know him particularly well, he was very withdrawn and lived alone,” regrets Mayor Manfred Lanzersdorfer.
If the family had not been particularly active in village life before, the father withdrew even more. A son had built a house in the city, but contact was probably sporadic.
Not a rarity
Unfortunately, such cases are not uncommon: eight weeks ago, the ‘Krone’ reported on a woman in her mid-forties who had lain dead in bed in her apartment in Linz for weeks without being noticed.
According to Statistics Austria, 230 people die every day in Austria, many alone. Almost a third of people over 65 and 44.5 percent of people over 80 live alone. And living alone also means that the chance of dying earlier is 32 percent higher than if you have a lot of social contacts.
A ‘harmless’ death, but one that still makes you think. You might wonder why no one, neither family nor neighbors, would have looked for the lonely man. But the case is not that simple: some people feel most comfortable when they are alone, others cannot tolerate company because of a mental illness.
Some families have deep rifts that make reconciliation or even regular contact seem impossible. But even in harmonious and happy families, it is not always easy to maintain constant contact with each member.
Used to be What can help: Send each other at least one ’emoji’, a smiley, in the morning so that you know the other is safe and well.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
