California woman lived with mother's decomposing corpse for over a year, police say

A California woman was found living with her mother's dead body in a home about 40 miles north of San Francisco on Tuesday morning, the Petaluma Police Department said. 

Officers were originally called to the home for a welfare check because dozens of packages were stacked on the front porch and no one came to the door when neighbors knocked. 

Police forced their way inside after no one answered and found a woman's body on a couch in the living room. Police said the woman had been dead for least a year. 

"A short time after the discovery of the body, the officers were shocked to hear a female voice calling out to them from a bedroom," Petaluma Police Lt. Jeremy Walsh told Fox News Digital. 

"After a slow and methodical process of clearing the debris, officers were able to safely get her out of the room and ultimately transported to an area hospital for medical treatment." 

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That woman, who said she was the victim's daughter, told police that her mother had died of natural causes in April 2021. 

Petaluma detectives believe that the woman had not left the house since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020, ordering all living essentials online, Walsh said. 

The Sonoma County Coroner’s Office will perform an autopsy on the victim to identify her and determine a cause of death. 

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Petaluma detectives, meanwhile, are investigating any criminal negligence that may have occurred by the daughter and looking into any financial benefits entitled to the victim that may have been inappropriately collected and used, according to Walsh. 

The City of Petaluma Code Enforcement Officer marked the home as unsafe for occupancy.