New York: More than a year after death, LI man found in front of his TV

The Boston Herald ^ | February 17, 2007

[Stoat]

More than a year after death, LI man found in front of his TV
By Associated Press
Saturday, February 17, 2007 - Updated: 12:04 PM EST

HAMPTON BAYS, N.Y. - A man’s body was found in his home more than a year after his death, with the television still on and his features preserved by dry conditions, officials said.     Vincenzo Ricardo, 70, apparently died of natural causes, said Dr. Stuart Dawson, Suffolk County’s deputy chief medical examiner. Southampton Town police found Ricardo’s body this week when they responded to a report of burst pipes.     Ricardo was found in a chair in front of the television set, as though he were watching it, Dawson said.     The home’s dry air had left his features intact, morgue assistant Jeff Bacchus said.     ”You could see his face. He still had hair on his head,” Bacchus said.     Ricardo’s wife died years ago, and he lived alone, Dawson said.     ”He hasn’t been heard from in over a year. That’s the part that baffles me,” he said. ”Nobody sounded the alarm.”     Neighbors said they had thought Ricardo was in a hospital or nursing home. Still, neighbor Diane Devon said residents at a gathering last month remarked that they hadn’t seen him in some time.     ”We never thought to check on him,” she said.

[Stoat]

 

".....neighbor Diane Devon said residents at a gathering last month remarked that they hadn’t seen him in some time.
     ”We never thought to check on him,” she said. "
 

Hopefully he will be Blessed with more friends in Heaven than he had on Earth.

Rest in peace, Mr. Ricardo.

[b4its2late]

He must've had automatic payments for his electric bill....or the TV would've went off a long time ago.

[lilylangtree]

Wonder who paid his bills, especially the electricity? (rhetorical)

[Chi-townChief]

What brand was the TV set??

[GSlob]

"".....neighbor Diane Devon said residents at a gathering last month remarked that they hadn’t seen him in some time.
”We never thought to check on him,” she said. "
Hopefully he will be Blessed with more friends in Heaven than he had on Earth."
It is a stick with two ends. On the other end of it there are Big Brotherly neighbors from cuban Neighborhood Revolutionary Committees and their ilk. On balance, I'd much rather have neighbors like Diane Devon.

[Izzy Dunne]

He saw the "wardrobe malfunction" one too many times...

[Robert A Cook PE]

Same comment: No friends, lived automatically.

He was "paid" automatically as well: His bank account (that paid the electric bill) was either big enough that it didn't run out, but was small enough that his kids (if any!) didn't notice that they could have collected the will.

Of course, his postal clerk didn't notice the mailbox hadn't been emptied in a year??

Wonder how many times he voted for democrats.

[johniegrad]

What brand was the TV set??

Eveready/Energizer.

[Jeff F]

[Farmer Dean]

It probably WASN'T an RCA.You couldn't get one of their sets to run for a year if you threatened it with a gun.

[M-cubed]

Reminds me of a true story from one of our local characters...


When he didn't pay his electric bill...one of his friends advised him they would shut his power off....

His reply...."To hell with em!!!....Ill watch TV in the dark..

[b4its2late]

Wonder how many times he voted for democrats.

LOL! Though LI is primarily Republican, but if he was a dem, I'm sure he voted many times on election day..... But it is kind of sad to think no one cared.....I blame that on the dems influence on our society today.

[ozzymandus]

He died doing what he loved.

[BluH2o]

I'm not buying into this story. I can see something like this happening if the time span were a month or so ... no way a year.

[nmh]

WHO was paying the electricity for the T.V. still being on?

This is weird.

[nmh]

Too may unanswered questions ... mail... electric bill?

Bottom line is no one cared to look into these odd things.

Very sad.

[radiohead]

his postal clerk didn't notice the mailbox hadn't been emptied in a year??

If he had a mail slot in the door, the postman would never notice.

I agree that with w/automatic payments, no one would notice anything was wrong for a long time. However, my experience with older people is that they don't tend to use automatic payments. They like to either send out the bills or go directly to the utility. I don't understand it, but there you are. I had a fair number of elderly clients when I practiced law and you couldn't even get them to get direct deposit for the social security check, although now I think the gubmint is trying to strong arm people into doing so.

[b4its2late]

LOL! Sounds like a character for sure....

[Stoat]

I'm not buying into this story. I can see something like this happening if the time span were a month or so ... no way a year.

I recall things like this in the news before....I remember a man in Germany who was found mummified after years of death, also in front of his TV.  His automatic bill payments kept everything working until his bank account ran out of money.

There's also this FR story from last year that I found when I searched the site prior to posting:

Mummified Body Found Sitting In Front Of TV

I know that a story like this may be hard for many people to believe, but society has gotten to the point where you really can isolate yourself completely from other people, even when living in a big city.

 

[Leisler]

TV rays are great preservatives.