A woman’s decomposing body was discovered hidden under a pile of clothes in an apartment in Tennessee on October 21. Further investigation showed that the body belonged to a mother who lived with her four mentally-challenged children.
Source: Wikimedia Commons/Skiier02
Body was discovered under a pile of clothes
The decomposing body found by the authorities belonged to a mother named Laronda Jolly, aged 56 years old. She lived with her four children in the apartment. All of her children were adults with special needs.
Her body was discovered when a deputy officer served an eviction notice in their home. He found Jolly’s body upstairs, hidden beneath a pile of clothes. After the grisly discovery, the victim’s children were interviewed by law enforcement authorities.
One of them said that they believe that their mother died two years ago. On the other hand, one of the siblings claimed that their mother passed away earlier in 2017.
Jolly’s brother was also interviewed. Authorities questioned why he did not suspect something was foul when he didn’t have any communication with his sister in the past years, reported by Crime Online.
According to the brother, he was never close to his deceased sibling, but he called every once in a while to check up on her. Furthermore, he believed that Jolly died sometime around 2018.
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Mom ordered kids to ‘let her lay there’
Photo: WKRN
Jolly’s brother tried to reach out to her in the past two years. However, he was not able to reach her in any way he can. Whenever he called, his nieces and nephews always say that their mother was not around.
“There was nothing left but bones, it was just a skeleton,” he said. “I called my niece, and I asked her how long had my sister been deceased and when she said since early 2017 – I was shocked.”
There was a time when Jolly’s brother would call the authorities to do a wellness check on Jolly and her children.
When officials tried to call her, those who were answering the phone says that she is not at home. This had led to Jolly’s death and her decomposing body being undiscovered for more than two years.
“They knew better, but they were going by what their mother said, they were obeying their mother’s wishes – just let her lay there, no matter what,” Jolly’s brother said in an interview.
After an autopsy of the decomposing body, there were no signs to suggest that there was foul play. The body was already far too deteriorated to determine the cause of death.
The Nashville Inner City Ministry will be looking for a place to house the adult children of Jolly.
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