The remains of a missing Connecticut detective were found under piles of clutter in her home, eight months after she shared a heartbreaking message.
Mary Notarangelo, 73, was discovered beneath mounds of trash at her remote Glastonbury home, along with dead birds, mice, and a single living cat, per the New York Post.
Video shows officers struggling to pry open the front door due to heaps of garbage pressed up against it, footage released after a Freedom of Information Request from CT Insider showed.
Many windows were boarded up on the property, which was set back from the road in dense woodland.
Used toilet paper, cans, plastic bottles, and other waste can be seen throughout the footage, most of which was taken in July 2024 when officers first visited the house looking for Notarangelo, unaware she had already died.
Workers in hazmat suits and masks are seen sifting through the garbage, making movement inside nearly impossible, per ABC News.
“I got a cat!” one officer is heard saying after finding the animal, the only living creature discovered inside the property.
“You can taste the foulness in your mouth,” another officer says, describing the overwhelming stench.
“It’s literally filled with used toilet paper and feces. It’s just not safe,” an officer says.
Police Chief Marshall Porter told the Connecticut Insider that officers initially could not enter the home due to the towering mounds of trash, calling it one of the most “deplorable” scenes he’s ever encountered.
“Hoarders usually have paths. But this was like just piled floor to almost ceiling,” Porter said, cited by The New York Post. “You literally would have had to climb over stuff.”
According to a police report released Wednesday, the conditions inside the property were so severe that dead birds were found in cages, mice roamed freely, and the stench was overpowering.
“Once inside, I observed more mountains of garbage, cobwebs, and spiders,” wrote Officer Anthony Longo. “There was no path whatsoever. The only way to move from room to room was by climbing over the garbage.”
Notarangelo was last seen on June 12, 2024, and was officially reported missing on July 3 by a man who occasionally helped her with tasks, ABC News reported.
He told police she had heartbreakingly texted him weeks earlier about suffering from abdominal cramps, vomiting, and a fall.
She was first reported missing after a friend noticed bird seed delivered for her beloved pet birds was left outside.
Notarangelo’s death was first reported in June, although her skeletal remains were found in February.
Notarangelo, who had few close relatives and lived a reclusive life, was a retired Bridgeport police detective who served from 1985 to 1996.
She was promoted to detective in 1992 and to sergeant a year later, before being forced to retire on disability after an on-duty car crash that injured her back and legs, a friend said.
Friends described her as a devoted animal lover and spiritual person. “She was passionate about her faith. She was passionate about her job. She had a great sense of humor. And she loved her animals.
"She loved her animals more than she did herself,” said Patti Steeves, who worked with her at the Bridgeport Police Department. “She, as quirky as she was, she was a good person at heart.”