A Colesville, New York mother allegedly let her young children play in the same room as their older sister’s decomposing body for two days last month, police said.
According to court documents obtained by WBNG, 31-year-old Seina Madden let her 9-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter play and sleep in the room were 10-year-old Belladonna Loke’s body was. The children played in the room on Saturday, Feb. 17 and Sunday, Feb. 18. Police found Belladonna’s body later that Sunday after responding to a report of an unresponsive child.
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Madden was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, but has not been charged in Belladonna’s death, reports PEOPLE. Police say she was aware of the child’s death, but “failed to take care of Belladonna’s remains.”
Madden posted bail on Friday, and was released from Broome County Jail on $8,000 bond.
Police have not released the cause of death for Belladonna. The charging documents say she was suffering from a serious medical condition before her death.
Police told WBNG that Belladonna was living at the home, which belonged to another relative, since December, when she moved to the Colesville area.
If convicted, Madden could face a year in jail.
In North Carolina, there was a similar case, where a man was found to be living with his mother’s deceased body more than 13 months after her death. A family friend told CBS North Carolina that the man “could not physically let go of her body” after her death on Jan. 2, 2017. Authorities also found a deceased dog in the man’s trailer. The trailer was later condemned.
“He was not in a good place as far as mental health at all. Nobody can be and make those kinds of decisions,” the friend told CBS North Carolina last month. “Yes, he’s remorseful. He knows he didn’t respect his mother’s remains.”
In a more extreme case, The Daily Mail reported that Ukrainian police found the mummified body of a woman who had been dead for at least 30 years in her 77-year-old daughter’s apartment. The body was found surrounded by rubbish after the daughter collapsed.
“In order to rescue the 77-year-old woman, officers called the rescue service which helped to break into the flat,” police said. “In one room on the floor was sitting a woman surrounded by rubbish.” Police said the daughter never spoke to her neighbors or opened her front door.
Photo credit: New York State Police
