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Man Lies Dead in Apartment for 20 Years (1 Viewer)

MarkHastings

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...nm/skeleton_dc

All I can say is
htf_images_smilies_smiley_jawdrop.gif

How does something like this happen?
 

Ted Lee

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bizarre. i would have thought the smell from the decomposition would have alerted people for miles. that must have been one very dry apartment...
 

andrew markworthy

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Given that the man was found in his pyjamas, it seems likely that this was either a natural death or suicide. Either way, what a sad lonely death.:frowning:
 

Tony Whalen

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Sad & lonely doesn't begin to describe... no one even thought to look for him, or report him missing...
 

Casey Trowbridg

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I agree with Tony, the fact nobody thought to have the police search for him vaults this past sad and lonely.
 

MarkHastings

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I realize he was in a vacated building, but this part of the story is just DISTURBING: Perhaps that's it. No one cared? :frowning:
 

Holadem

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Well, this took place in Tokyo. We may be missing some cultural element.

Otherwise, sounds like a murder to me.

--
H
 

Joe Szott

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Maybe they just all assumed he was a deadbeat dad and had moved to Vegas or something. Does anyone know if thet sort of behavior is common in Japan (just wondering)?
 

Ricardo C

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Not "convenient". He could have simply keeled over with a heart attack after getting the paper.
 

andrew markworthy

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I hate to make this thread even more moribund, but the number of people who die each year without friends or relatives even aware that they still existed is high. We tend to think that everyone 'must' have friends and relatives, but some people don't. People idly suppose that if someone disappears others will automatically notify the police, but that just isn't the case. Some individuals are already sufficiently alienated from those around them that a disappearance is not thought all that unusual. It doesn't necessarily mean that the person is unpleasant, just very reserved and inconspicuous, and there's no sin in that. Believe it or not, the only odd thing about this case is the length of time before the body was discovered.
 

MarkHastings

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I know what your saying Andrew, but if you worked with someone and they just stopped coming in, wouldn't you be curious? I'm sure the boss would have to have some contact with this guy to finalize his last day of work. And what about his pay? Sure the company could send out a check, but if it doesn't get cashed, wouldn't this raise a red flag?

I know the article doesn't really say anything more than...and it's true that he may not have had a lot of contact with his family, but 20 years? You'd think after this long of time, someone may have had the need to contact him. It just sounds like they knew he was missing, but just didn't care. As sad as life sometimes is, it just sounds very odd.
 

Joe Szott

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This guy was working construction though. It's a crapshoot whether someone will show up any given day in that biz, and extremely common for them to just stop coming in altogether with no explanation. Just the nature of the job...
 

Garrett Lundy

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I think after the first few months of him not answering his phone, followed by the phone getting cut-off and not having his mail picked-up. His remaining family really didn't have any way of contacting him.

But I'd liek to know where I can get an apartment and not have to pay rent for 20 years. Such a sweet deal, and the guy wasn't even around to enjoy it.
 

PhillJones

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I think that there are cultural diffeences between Japan and the US which mkes this so hard to understand.

I saw a documentary a few months back about unemployed and unsuccessful corporate execs in Tokyo. The level of shame that these people feel often leads them to commit suicide or sever ties with their families and disappear. If people didn't show up to work one day, co-workers would say nothing for fear of embarrassing the family.

It looked like something out of 1930s America, all these guys in tailored suits living on the streets and trying to find a way back in just to salvage their pride.

They talked about one guy who his comapny didn't want arround anymore. They didn't sack him because they were embarressed and didn't want to make a scene so they put him in a office with no phone or computer and wouldn't give him anything to do. He felt so ashamed that he killed himself. He threw himself off the building but jumped between the gap between two buildings. His wife said he did so to avoid making a fuss.
 

Seth--L

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Eh, it's not so strange. When my parents’ apartment was being renovated back in the '70s, not one, but two skeletons were found behind a wall. Apparently the building had been a flophouse in the '50s.
 

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