The remains of a retired Connecticut police detective have been found buried under piles of clutter inside her own home, more than eight months after she was reported missing.
Mary A. Notarangelo, 73, was last seen on June 12, 2024, and officially reported missing on July 3 by a man who occasionally helped her with tasks, ABC News reported.
He told police she had texted him weeks earlier about suffering from abdominal cramps, vomiting, and a fall. What followed was a lengthy and tragic mystery.
Police Chief Marshall Porter told the Connecticut Insider that officers initially couldn’t physically enter her Glastonbury home due to towering mounds of trash, describing it as 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, conditions inside the remote, woodland property were so severe that dead birds were found in cages, mice scurried freely, and a live cat was discovered amid the filth. The stench was overwhelming.
“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.”
Crews used cadaver dogs, drones, and even called in specialists from the state environmental agency and a biohazard waste company. But it wasn’t until February, during the biohazard crew’s second attempt, this time armed with a small excavator, that her remains were finally uncovered, just inside her front door.
“They were prepared with equipment and dumpsters to excavate the entire house,” Porter said, but they found her shortly after they began.
The state medical examiner’s office confirmed the remains were mostly skeletal and could not determine a cause or manner of death. Officials have called the case “tragic and very strange".
Notarangelo, who had few close relatives and lived a reclusive life, was a retired Bridgeport police detective.
She served from 1985 to 1996, was promoted to detective in 1992, and later to sergeant. She retired on disability following an on-duty car crash that injured her back and legs.
Friends remember her as a devoted animal lover and spiritual woman. “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.”
Steeves said Notarangelo owned as many as 20 birds, including cockatoos, cockatiels, and parrots, as well as a cat and a dog. Despite multiple conversations, Notarangelo refused to discuss her hoarding tendencies, she said.
Notarangelo’s social media included videos of her birds, including one where a cockatoo sat on a shopping cart during a trip to a crafts store. She described herself online as an “animal lover” and “intuitive & reiki master"
Our thoughts are with Notarangelo’s loved ones.