Hello Airplane,
You wrote:
>>This is just monumentally weird.<<
I agree 100%. What is also wierd is that there is a whole lot more to this story and it hasn't yet filtered out to us. Someone has to know who moved in, lived in that house and when. Certainly some neighbors have a clue, or relatives. And certainly there is some clue as to the mental estate of those who lived in the home.
There is a family lawyer. I have to wonder how long that lawyer has been the family lawyer, and what funds paid them. I also wonder how old that lawyer is (and maybe "their" mental estate). Who has communicated with this lawyer and what were the communications. What "estate" or money managed the upkeep and taxes of that house. One might guess that the home was paid off years ago, but who has been "literally" paying the property taxes, utilities, maintenance, lawn and tree care and from what funds? Did the father/mother or any of the siblings have a big estate (inheritance) to pay for this (managed by a lawyer)? Has LE interviewed the lawyer, the senior adviser?
>>Since one of them has been dead since the 1980s, it would mean the other three would had to have agreed not to call anyone or arrange for a funeral. The remaining two would had to have agreed not to call when the one died in 2003.<<
This is certainly a curious set of thoughts, isn't it? I mean IF Margaret was living with relatives (which relatives? where?), then at some point moved back into the home, when was that AND which of her siblings was living in (or dead in) the house at that time? Did she never question where her elder sister was, how she was, if she had died and been buried and where? Did none of the siblings, whoever and whenever they moved in wonder what the heck was in the other rooms of the house, no one explored? And what if they did explore...
The father is noted as dying in 1966 (was he buried, where?), Lillian the mother is noted as dying 6 years later in 1972 (the father was 94 at the time of death, how old was Lillian?)
AHA, a record...
Lillian BERNSTORFF <--- is this the mother? I think maybe so.
Born: 10 Dec 1881
Died: Mar 1974 <--- hmmm "no" specific date of death?
Locality: Evanston, Cook, Illinois
It appears that Lillian was 92 at the time of death. Was daughter Elaine living with her at the time?
Now we hear that Elaine died in her 60s in the 1970s (before or after mother?) Was Elaine of sound mind, i.e. not mentally challenged? Was mother caring for a child that was not well (mentally or otherwise), or was daughter caring for her aging mother? Who preceded who in death? Why is there no "specific death date" for Lillian? Was Lillian's death managed by a funeral home, was she cremated or buried? Where? Oh my gosh, where is Lillian's body?
If Elaine preceded Lillian in death, how did the authorities/siblings get the body handled with Elaine's remains in the house and no one noticing (did Lillian die outside the home and was found)? If Elaine died after her mother, did Elaine need care, was anyone there caring for her, or was she left to manage herself? Is it possible that Lillian's death was managed, then the 3 other siblings left the house alone for a while only to go there and find Elaine?
Maybe the 3 other siblings were busy with life, then someone went and found Elaine and thought "oh cr*p." Why not call the police? OR was there one of the siblings that KNEW that Elaine died there and they said nothing? Did they swear others to secrecy due to some family pact (and then the pact went on from there)?
Airplane, you wrote:
>>I cannot imagine this would have happened without agreement among or between them. It also makes me wonder if these siblings didn't suffer from some sort of inherited mental illness.<<
Yes, something is not right here, not at all. It also seems that there was some agreement unless all of these people just had a screw loose and/or none of them managed the entire home. It "is" possible for all children in a family to suffer a genetic something (retardation/illness). Even so, there is not enough information to figure this out, not yet, but I hope we get more.
As a note, I found something a bit interesting while fishing the Bernstorff name. There was a "Count" von Bernstorff who appears to be born in London (I believe) just about 10 years before Frank Bernstorff. The Count was a shady guy. I have to wonder if there is any family connection?
Dissertation of Frank Adolph Bernstorff This was written in 1914, so about at the age of 42. I would be interested in knowing when FA Bernstorff came to this country, a little about his geneology (wondering about the funds keeping the family home all these years), and where he is buried IF he is buried, and where the body of Lillian was buried IF it was buried.
This is definitely a "movie." How often can something like this really happen?
Wrinkles