Woman thought liquid dripping from ceiling was rust, not blood

St. Petersburg Times ^ | January 07, 2004 | Associated Press

[Holly_P]

A woman who lived for three months in a home where a decomposing body was stashed in the attic mistook stains on her kitchen tile as rust leaking from the ceiling instead of blood.

Robyn Cooper discovered Monday night that the stubborn orange marks may have been from blood plasma from the human body decomposing in the attic.

Cooper said she doesn't want to stay in the four-bedroom duplex apartment any longer.

"I'm afraid somebody's going to get me," Cooper said. "But I can't afford to move."

Daytona Beach authorities found human remains in the single mother of four's home after two men and a woman ran into her attic while fleeing police. Cooper's boyfriend, Zachariah Sanders, 31, and Ben Gibson, 26, and Darlene Reed, 21, were hiding upstairs when police came looking for them.

As police began looking, she said, Gibson suddenly came from out of the attic entrance, a panel along the bottom wall of Cooper's daughter's room, and shouted, "There's a dead body in there!"

The remaining fugitives emerged from the attic and were arrested. Later, authorities removed the remains of a human body tucked into the attic insulation.

Gibson, Sanders and Reed were wanted on probation-violation charges, Daytona Beach police spokesman Sgt. Al Tolley said.

Cooper said she has been complaining to Daytona Beach City Commissioner Charles Cherry, who manages the property, about a foul smell she could not find the source of or get rid of since she moved into the house.

Cooper said when she told Cherry about blood on the carpet in her daughter Samira's bedroom, he said it was likely from a deceased pet.

Cherry said he has managed the property for years and that the apartment was vacant for four or five months before Cooper moved in. According to Volusia County property records, Peart and Associates Inc., own the building.

Cherry said Cooper has never complained about the apartment to him.

"Obviously it was there before she got there," Cherry said.

[jaz.357]

"Obviously it was there before she got there," Cherry said.

Do you think?

Jeeze,,,Cowboy UP lady!

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[Ruth A.]

Cooper said she has been complaining to Daytona Beach City Commissioner Charles Cherry, who manages the property, about a foul smell she could not find the source of or get rid of since she moved into the house. Cooper said when she told Cherry about blood on the carpet in her daughter Samira's bedroom, he said it was likely from a deceased pet.

Just an Al Gore type of property manager, I suppose.

[cynwoody]

Reminds me of the Unicorn case (in which the victim was named Holly).

[Holly_P]

Reminds me of the Unicorn case (in which the victim was named Holly).

I could have gone all day without reading that!

[BenLurkin]

Just D_mn!

[EggsAckley]

I don't know if I'm just tired or if this article is so poorly written that I can make no sense of it. Who were the perps who hid in her closet? Was that while she was there? It's very confusing.

[EggsAckley]

Oh, nevermind. I just read it again and it sort of came clear. Strange story, though.

[Holly_P]

It is poorly written.

[RightWhale]

Daytona Beach, where bodies are stashed in attics and probable felons run into strangers' houses to hide in attics from authorities. Is this where they get their ideas for Elm Street movies?

[Old Student]

No, this is the "lady's" boyfriend, and his friends. Sounds like the kind of crowd people would want to raise their children around.

[RightWhale]

Could be worse. The friends could throw up all the furniture in a barricade and wait behind it pistols drawn. That would distract me from my FReeping, no doubt.

[Billthedrill]

Oh, man, the old decomposing-body-in-the-attic blood-dripping-on-the-carpet thing. I just hate it when that happens to me.

[Last Dakotan]

Ooowooo that smell. Can't you smell that smell? The smell of death surrounds you.