No Foul Play Suspected in Mummified Body Found in San Fran Home
April 06--Police said Sunday that there was no foul play suspected in the death of a person discovered in a derelict home in San Francisco's Richmond District that was reportedly so packed with debris that officials initially had trouble opening the front door.
The body found there -- which was removed from the home on Saturday -- was in such a state that one firefighter was heard describing it as "mummified."
Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a police spokesman, said the case was now the responsibility of the medical examiner, but the death would not be investigated as suspicious until a cause of death had been determined. Officials with the medical examiner's office said identification of the body, and the cause of death, wasn't likely any time soon.
Supervisor Eric Mar, who represents the nearby Richmond District, said the mess was unprecedented.
"I'm hearing that there were rats, spiders, dog feces and trash just everywhere, in some cases piled to the ceiling," he said. "The police captains I've spoken with tell me this is the worst case of hoarding they have ever seen."
On Sunday morning, curious onlookers and neighbors stopped in front of the house on the 100 block of Fourth Avenue, which remained cordoned off with police tape, to snap pictures with their phones after hearing of the grisly discovery in news reports.
One neighbor, a nurse who gave his name only as Bruce, said the home stuck out on the block populated mostly by well-kept Victorians and apartment buildings. For the 10 years he had been walking his dog on the street, he always assumed it was unoccupied.
"There were always these tattered curtains covering the windows and there were never any lights on," he said. "I always thought it was either abandoned or haunted or both. It's horrifying to think someone actually lived in there."
Neighbors said a man living in an in-law unit at the house was informed on Tuesday that the property was in foreclosure. On Wednesday, city workers showed up to begin clearing out the home, but were quickly overwhelmed by the mess -- which was said to include mold, black widow spiders and roughly 300 bottles of urine -- and had to call in a professional cleaning service.
It was unclear exactly when the body was discovered.
A woman -- who neighbors said was named Carolyn -- lived at the home with her elderly mother and with a dog that she took for daily walks, though the mother had not been seen for several years.
A neighbor told The Chronicle on Saturday that Carolyn was to be taken to a hospital.
Mar said his biggest concerns were for the health and safety of surrounding neighbors and how the situation could have deteriorated to the point it did.
"We certainly want seniors to stay in their communities as long as possible, but when people aren't getting adequate health care and attention, this is what happens," he said.
The home on Fourth Avenue, built in 1904, is listed as being owned by Anna and Archibald Ragin. A man who works at a nearby market said Archibald Ragin died years ago. The man, who identified himself only as Tony, said Carolyn was a retired Pacific Bell worker. She came in daily to buy snacks, Tony said, but she stopped about a year ago. When he saw her recently on the street, she had become thin and told him she was very sick and didn't want him to catch what she had, he said.
Mar said he will be working with both the Department of Public Health and the Department of Aging and Adult Services to figure out how this could have happened and to identify other similar cases in his district and throughout the city.
"This appears to be a nightmare of what can happen when people age in place for too long," he said. "We need to identify what the triggers are for the city to step in."
Chronicle staff writer Carolyne Zinko contributed to this report.
Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale
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