Identified! AZ - Phoenix, Mummified body in bathtub, Feb'08 - Richard Olejnik

http://www.news4jax.com/news/15275894/detail.html
Watch the video for updated info.
Once they reached the bathroom, they discovered the bathtub was covered with plywood and plastic, Tranter said. Underneath the material, they found layers of dirt and sand, Tranter said.

As the owners began removing the dirt, they saw a human leg and ran to call police, according to Tranter. (more at link)

Taximom said:

http://www.news4jax.com/news/15275894/detail.html
Watch the video for updated info.
Once they reached the bathroom, they discovered the bathtub was covered with plywood and plastic, Tranter said. Underneath the material, they found layers of dirt and sand, Tranter said.

As the owners began removing the dirt, they saw a human leg and ran to call police, according to Tranter. (more at link)

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This is way beyond weird.
It's like something out of a horror movie.

http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=992d3645-1d49-4ff1-aae6-8c92869b5c14

Authorities say the owners had been receiving regular rent checks from the same person since 1995.

They rarely had contact with the tenant, but a few years ago, the owners crossed paths with the person who had been living in the apartment.

The owners, according to police, did not immediately recognize the tenant and questioned whether he was the same renter from 1995.

The man claimed he was the original tenant, and the owners did not push the issue.

Now, Phoenix police are investigating the possibility of identity theft.

Identity Theft?!?!?! -- What about murder?

http://www.kpho.com/news/15272829/detail.html?rss=pho&psp=news

Sounds like an ugly situation.

XcomSquaddie said:

http://www.kpho.com/news/15272829/detail.html?rss=pho&psp=news

Sounds like an ugly situation.

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I wonder if the renter died and that is why the rent payment finally stopped? Sounds like it was a vacation type cottage ... did I understand that correctly?

The house was completely trashed and utterly disgusting. I cannot figure out who would want to live in such a filthy environment. How creepy they find a dead body in the bathtub.

Greywing said:

I wonder if the renter died and that is why the rent payment finally stopped? Sounds like it was a vacation type cottage ... did I understand that correctly?

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The article doesn't say. Renting it for that many years sounds like it was a "regular" house rental. "Cottage" makes it sound like a vacation place.

The police said the person had been dead a number of years and that the checks stopped last summer, less than a year. Maybe there was an automatic payment arrangement via checking account. When the money ran out, the checks stopped coming.

That assumes of course, that the body in the tub is that of the renter.


More Links:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0211abrk-bodyfound.html

Picture of house:
http://www.azfamily.com/news/homepagetopstory/stories/KTVK_20080211_tub-body.b0f398b2.html

link:
http://ktar.com/index.php?nid=6&sid=729635

link:
http://www.channel3000.com/news/15275894/detail.html


At this point, I'd guess foul play was involved, fraud at the very least.

Nocgirl said:

The house was completely trashed and utterly disgusting. I cannot figure out who would want to live in such a filthy environment. How creepy they find a dead body in the bathtub.

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Our previous next-door neighbor lived like that.

She was elderly and had serious mental issues including paranoia and possibly schizophrenia. However she was cognizant enough that she refused help. We did what we could, lawn maintenance, taking her shopping, etc., but she would not take help managing her (meager) finances and taking her medications.

Her children refused to become involved, apparently since the mental issues had affected her parenting. Again, we tried to get help, but we were shut down as soon as the agencies found out we were not family.

Eventually she had a complete breakdown and was institutionalized. She passed away a year later. The house was unbelievable. The toilet was broken and filled to the brim with human waste. The kitchen was full of rotten food and maggots. The entire house was full of cat urine and the cat was found dead in the basement.

And of course, as soon as she died, one son was in the place trying to clean up, since it was "his" house. I just smiled since I knew that the county had already started procedings to seize the property to pay for her care.

Sometimes it's not a question of wanting to live like that. Sometimes people slip through the gaps.

Holy smoke - it's kind of startling to recognize the address of a crime scene. That happened just a few blocks from where I grew up. I lived on Rose Lane at 8th Ave. When I was a kid my little feet peddled my bike past that place many a times when I rode my bike to school instead of taking the school bus. Judging from what I could see in the news video, the area has changed alot since the last time I went to Phoenix and dragged my adult son through my old stomping grounds.

From July 2008:

http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/07/25/20080725mummy0725.html

The body is that of the home's renter, Richard Olejnik, who was last seen about seven years ago, police said Thursday. Police were not calling the death a homicide or seeking homicide charges because the body was "simply too decomposed" to determine the cause or manner of death...

Roughly around the time that Olejnik was last seen, another man, identified as 58-year-old Larry Allen, took up residence in Olejnik's home. It was not clear whether the two men lived together at some point, but detectives believe Allen had been living at the residence for quite some time with the body in the home.

Officials believe Allen had used Olejnik's identity to forge documents, Gonzales said.

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