New Orleans: A Lakeview residence in New Orleans became the centre of a disturbing investigation after city officials discovered the mummified remains of a 600-pound man who had been dead for approximately nine months, while his elderly mother, was found living in the home with the decomposing body.
The woman, identified as Barbara Hainsworth, a former physician described as mentally impaired in official documents, had been living in the home alongside her son's decomposed body amid what officials characterised as horrific and inhabitable conditions, reported by PEOPLE.
Her residence was reportedly "filled with garbage, chickens, roosters, rats" when code enforcement investigators with the City of New Orleans found her son’s remains on Thursday, May 15.
Public records showed neighbors made multiple complaints to the city regarding the condition of the home as trash built up, drawing vermin, according to WDSU. Hainsworth was a former doctor who had her medical license revoked approximately a decade ago.
When officers with the New Orleans Police Department arrived at her home and inquired about the rotting dead body in her residence, she reportedly said, "That's my son. He died about nine months ago.”
His name has not been released, though Hainsworth allegedly informed he had suffered from multiple chronic health conditions. The home was declared a health hazard, but officials have said demolition is not being considered at this time, though authorities confirmed that a private contractor was placed on standby to perform sanitation and sealing operations, including closing a hole in the home's bathroom floor.
The New Orleans Police Department is also scheduled to board up the house to mitigate public health risks.
On May 6, just one day before the agency became aware of the extreme conditions, Hainsworth “was fined $6,125 and the property was declared a public nuisance," per WDSU.
A mobile crisis unit was dispatched to have the homeowner receive a mental health evaluation. She has not been charged for any crimes or arrested, and the investigation remains ongoing.
