Why it took nine months for a dead Stamford man’s body to be discovered
STAMFORD — Residents of Tamarac, a Glenbrook condominium complex, weren’t quite sure what had happened in one of their buildings.
A man had been dead for about nine months when a state marshal discovered his remains Jan. 18 during a planned eviction. Police have declined to identify the man but described him as a 56year-old resident of the complex.
Stamford Assistant Police Chief Richard Conklin said officers believe his death was from natural causes, and described his body as “severely decomposed.” He said the man’s family has since been notified of his death.
“We have a community here, so it surprised me that something like this would happen,” resident Shira Tarantino said after the body was found. “I feel bad because I really didn’t know him. I’d seen him five or six times and I’ve been here since 2009.”
The story — though heartbreaking — has a simple explanation, officials said.
“The commonality is an isolated experience,” Conklin said.
Conklin estimated that cases, like that of the deceased Tamarac resident, happen “three or four times” per year in Stamford. Typically, people who are affected skew older, out of the workforce, and in some cases, affected by alcoholism or other illnesses.
“Society has certainly changed, too,” he said. “We have a much more transient type of society where people change their apartment address.
Much more people work online or commute to New York. It’s not that ... community where people know each other.”
But there is a sense of community at Tamarac, residents said in the aftermath of the tragedy. Many folks work and commute daily, but they also gather for special events in the shared courtyard space, including an annual party for children to celebrate the end of the school year.
“We have families. It’s not just transient people,” Tarantino said.
Still, the case prompted officials to reach out to
Stamford residents, asking them to alert local authorities when a nearby residence appears absent.
Local government designates welfare checks as a police responsibility, said Sharona Cowan, the city’s director of social services. She recommended that people reach out to her office if they see any telltale signs: large stacks of mail, unmowed grass, rusting vehicles. She said people can also check in with the city’s office of public safety, health and welfare, which oversees non-emergency situations as well.
“If you see certain things, it doesn’t hurt to be wrong. Call it in. Someone may be in need and you just don’t know,” Cowan said.
In other cases where the person’s identity or cause of death is less clear, body decomposition can also complicate the case.
In Connecticut, the statewide chief medical examiner’s office determines the cause of death in all cases of sudden, unexpected or violent deaths. But when a body decomposes, the office must outsource DNA samples to the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, according to DNA technical leader Cheryl Carreiro.
“Decomposition really makes it a little more difficult than normal,” said Carreiro, the lab’s assistant director.
“If you see certain things, it doesn’t hurt to be wrong. Call it in. Someone may be in need and you just don’t know.” Sharona Cowan, Stamford director of social services