KEY POINTS
- The body of Clara Inés Tobón, 79, was found in an advanced state of decomposition inside her home
- Her body appeared to have been partially eaten by her pet cats, of which two survived and five died
- She appeared to have died due to natural causes, but authorities are still waiting for autopsy results
Police in Madrid, Spain discovered the decomposing corpse of a 79-year-old woman inside her Fuencarral apartment on May 24, which authorities said appeared to have been partially eaten by her pet cats.
Neighbors of Colombia native Clara Inés Tobón told authorities of their suspicions of the elderly woman's demise due to a strong odor coming from her home located in Sant Cugat del Vallés street, Spanish newspaper El Mundo first reported.
"Sometimes it smelled bad from the cats and the boxes of food that came up, but this time there was a very strong stench," one neighbor told the newspaper. Neighbors also said they were concerned as they had not seen the woman in a while and thought she had died of COVID-19.
Officers of the National Police, with the help of firefighters from the Madrid City Council, entered through one of the apartment's windows and found Tobón's corpse in one of the rooms.
Police said her body was in an advanced state of decomposition and that part of her body appeared to have been bitten. Tobón appeared to have died of natural causes at least three months ago, but authorities are still awaiting official autopsy results.
She was believed to have suffered from Diogenes syndrome, also known as senile squalor syndrome, due to the large amount of garbage and feline excrement found in her apartment.
Authorities also discovered seven cats inside the apartment, two of which were alive but in poor condition while the remaining five died of starvation. The two cats were found breathing and were taken to the Animal Protection Center, a municipal spokesman said.
A neighbor said one of the responding officers told her that Tobón's body had been eaten waist up by the cats.
"A national police officer told us that it was the worst thing he had seen since he worked," the neighbor recounted.
A necropsy has been ordered on several of the cats to determine whether or not they fed on Tobón's body.
The door to Tobón's house has been sealed and no one has entered her apartment since the police left last Monday.
Tobón had reportedly been living alone in the apartment since 1996 and was neither married nor had any children. Her family lived in her native country of Colombia and she had no relatives in Spain.
Representation. Police said Tobón's body was already in an advanced state of decomposition when they found her. Photo: Pixabay
