07 July,2011 10:32 AM IST | | ANI
The skeletal remains of an elderly Australian woman have been found by the police in her home in Surry Hills, Sydney, eight years after she died
Police forced their way in and found the skeletal remains of Natalie Wood on the floor in her bedroom after being contacted by her sister-in-law, News.com.au reports.
According to the police superintendent, Wood was last seen in 2003, and she was not keeping in touch with her brother or his wife after a family dispute. He also said that after Wood''s sister-in-law contacted police to inform them about some issues that happened within the family this week, they went to Wood's house, but found her dead instead.
What was more shocking is that while the electricity to the house was turned off, the dead women had still been receiving Centrelink payments that had been going into her bank account, but had been untouched.
Superintendent Dzevlan said officers were checking with the utility company to see when the last bills were paid. Ms Wood's mail had been redirected years ago to her sister-in-law who lives in the Sydney area but that stopped some time ago.
NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher called the incident shameful.
"The death eight years ago now of an elderly lady ... really does highlight the need for this state and indeed our community to work closer at building relationships with our community," he said.
"To hear today that an elderly lady can pass away, be dead for eight years and for Centrelink to still be sending cheques to her bank account and for those cheques not to be cashed - surely that must set off the alarm bells within government," Gallacher added.
