In a shocking incident, Georgia police discovered a group of individuals had taken up residence in a deceased man’s home, pilfering his belongings while his body lay decomposing in a bathtub for several months. The Cobb County Police were alerted to the situation in early October when they were called to conduct a welfare check at the home of 71-year-old Robert Westbrook in Smyrna, a suburb of Atlanta, following concerns raised about his prolonged absence.
Upon entering the residence, the officers were met with a grim sight – Westbrook’s body in an advanced state of decomposition in the bathtub. “He was in a severe state of decomposition. It’s called mummification,” Detective Daniel Goduto explained. The police estimate that Westbrook’s body had been lying there for approximately three months.
During this period, a group of burglars had taken advantage of the situation, moving into the home and systematically looting Westbrook’s possessions. “Drawers were overturned. His master bedroom was completely just disheveled,” Goduto described. “But then, there were items consistent with somebody still living there. The trash looked like it was taken out regularly. It looked like there was stuff in the garbage can that was fairly new.”
The day after the discovery of Westbrook’s body, a neighbor alerted the police to the presence of individuals in the deceased man’s driveway. Responding to the call, the police found four people loading Westbrook’s property into their car. Westbrook’s car was also missing, and subsequent investigations led the police to a gas station where they apprehended three additional burglary suspects.
The suspects were found to be using Westbrook’s credit cards and forging checks to steal his money. They now face a multitude of charges, including burglary and fraud. “It goes to show their moral compass, if you will,” Goduto commented. “I mean, they broke into someone’s home. They saw him deceased on the ground and instead of saying, ‘Hey, we messed up. Let’s call 911. We found this guy dead,’ they decided to just live there.”
Westbrook is believed to have died of natural causes. Attempts by the police to contact his family revealed that all his relatives were deceased. A neighbor, Sonya da Silva, expressed her shock and sadness at the situation, stating, “It’s a shame and it’s sad. It’s just sad. To take advantage of a dead person is just sick.”