Flat mate shared South Croydon home with dead friend for month (From Croydon Guardian)

Flat mate shared South Croydon home with dead friend for month

7:00am Friday 23rd October 2009

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A man shared a flat with his dead housemate for up to a month until the smell of his decomposing body alerted cops.

The body of the man, named locally as former serviceman Robert Lerigo, was found in a room in the Bramley Hill, South Croydon, flat by police officers on Sunday, October 11, in an advanced state of decomposition.

Despite repeated complaints to Croydon Council about the smell coming from the ground floor flat, Mr Lerigo remained undiscovered for more than a fortnight.

It was only after neighbours reported Mr Lerigo, who is believed to have family abroad, to the Metropolitan Police’s Missing Persons Bureau, that officers made the gruesome discovery.

A postmortem examination was held on October 12 at Croydon Mortuary and revealed the man had died of natural causes.

A resident at the Bramley Hill estate said: “We all reported the smell to the council but they didn’t come for about two weeks.

“The smell became unbearable and eventually they came and discovered the body.

“It smelled like a dog had died.

“The two men who lived there were always drinking. They would sit outside on the bench drinking cider and Jack Daniels.”

Another resident said: “There was an estate inspection a couple of weeks ago but the guy who was living with Rob said that he had gone to hospital.

“Their door was never locked and they had no running water or electricity. They lived in almost abject poverty. I pushed the door open once and the smell was awful.

“I just can’t believe he was allowed to get in that state in the first place.

“There should have been someone keeping an eye on him.”

John Piper, chairman of the Bramley Hill Residents Association, said: “He (Robert Lerigo) was nice in every way.

“He was always polite and helpful.

“It is such as shame it had to end like this for him.

“I think he may have been in either the Royal Air Force or the Army because he spoke to other residents about his time in the forces.

• Duncan Rattray, 64, was charged on October 12 with concealment of a corpse.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Croydon Crown Court on December 18.

• Did you know Robert Lerigo? Let us know by email here, phone the newsdesk on 020 8330 9555 or leave a comment below.

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