Man Lived Alongside Dead Father's Body For Four Months

Kenneth Brown was reportedly propped up in his favorite armchair.
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A man in England lived alongside the decomposing body of his dead father for at least four months until a neighbor spotted the elderly man's skeleton propped up in an armchair, a court heard on Friday.

Timothy Brown, 59, sat his dad, Kenneth, 94, down in his favorite seat in their Stafford home after the retiree fell following a fire earlier this year, according to multiple reports. The next day, Brown discovered that his father had died.

But he didn't report the death to authorities and continued living with the body inside the property, Staffordshire Police Detective Constable Andrew Weatherley told Cannock coroner's court, the Guardian reported.

The father and son lived in Stafford, England
The father and son lived in Stafford, England

It's not known exactly when the fire and fall took place.

But Kenneth Brown's death was finally discovered around four months later when a neighbor stopped by on Oct. 18 and found Timothy sitting next to his father's remains, The Sentinel reported.

The neighbor called emergency services and Timothy Brown -- described as his father's caretaker ever since his mother died in 2004 -- was arrested on suspicion of concealing a body and preventing a burial, the court heard.

Weatherley said at the hearing that the case was dropped after it was established there was "no obvious motive for [Timothy Brown] to cause the death of his father."

Kenneth Brown's body was so badly decomposed after its discovery that an exact cause of death could not be determined, according to the Guardian.

Senior Assistant Coroner Margaret Jones described the incident as "very sad" and recorded an open verdict over the death, the Express & Star reported.

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