Burglary suspects lived in Georgia home with victim’s mummified body: police

A group of seven burglars are accused of squatting and ransacking their victim’s home in Georgia while his mummified body was still inside.

Cobb County police responded to the Smyrna, Georgia home in early October for a welfare check, but instead found Robert Westbrook, the 71-year-old homeowner and sole occupant, dead in his bathtub. WANF reported.

“He was in a serious state of decomposition. It’s called mummification,” Detective Daniel Goduto told WANF.

Detectives said Westbrook died of natural causes and that his body had been in the bathtub for about three months. However, they also found evidence that someone else had moved into the house during those months. Westbrook’s body was in the bathtub.

“(The house) was looted. Drawers had fallen over. His master bedroom was in complete disarray,” Goduto told the local newspaper.

‘But then there were things that indicated that someone still lived there. The rubbish looked like it was removed regularly. It looked like there was stuff in the bin that was quite new,” he added.

Police received a call the day after the welfare check from a neighbor of Westbrook who knew he had died and claimed they had seen people on his property. Officers checked the house again and found four suspects with pieces of Westbrook’s belongings loaded into their vehicle, ready to abscond with the dead man’s belongings — including his money, electronics and even his car.

“They had the victim’s credit cards. They had some checks from him,” Goduto said.

Police were able to recover Westbrook’s stolen car at a nearby gas station, along with the other three suspects who fled with the vehicle.

“They had made purchases at the gas station. They played with his money on the lottery machines at the gas station.

All seven suspects knew each other, and some had prior criminal histories in Cobb County, according to the detective.

“It shows their moral compass, if you will,” Goduto said.

“I mean, they broke into someone’s house. They saw him lying dead on the ground and instead of saying, “Hey, we messed up. Let’s call 911. We found this man dead. They just decided to live there.”

Unsuspecting neighbors were nervous about the death of their neighbor and the squatters who felt at home.

“I had no idea this was happening,” neighbor Sophia Da Silva told WANF.

“I had no idea he was dead. I had no idea he had been robbed. It was quite shocking.”

The exterior of Westbrook’s home was choked with overgrown vegetation, making the home an easy target because it looked abandoned, according to police.

“I think they thought it was an empty house,” Goduto said.

“If you know you have an elderly neighbor, check on him or her. If you see their house is overgrown, check them,” he said in an appeal to the public.