Hoarder Crushed By Weight Of Massive Collection

In Cheshire, Connecticut, a hoarder was found crushed by her own collection of trash, electronic waste, and other belongings. The garbage was reportedly “waist deep.”

Beverly Mitchell, 66, was recently found in the basement of her home. Reports indicate that the first level floor collapsed beneath her feet. Ms. Mitchell lived alone and had little to no contact with people outside her home. The police were finally alerted after about a week when the postman reported that Ms. Mitchell had not collected her mail in some time.

The police broke into her house and found the body Saturday.

Patrol Sargent Kevin O’Donnell said of the discovery, “It appears, at least, that the floor gave way. All the items that she had collected for many years covered her as the floor sank down into the basement.”

He added, “It’s just junk. She just never threw anything away. Mail, packages, bottles lots of papers, newspapers, magazines, you name it. Piled to the ceiling in most rooms. There was a waist-high layer in the room she had been living in.”

The police had gone to the home in Cheshire on Thursday but deduced that Ms. Mitchell was not at home and did not realize until the next day on a further attempt that the floor had collapsed on the main level. After the discovery, police entered the home by cutting a hole in the side of the abode. The township police called in the services of a backhoe to remove debris and trash that the hoarder had collected over the years.

Police had visited the home at neighbors requests multiple times over the last few years and offered help for the hoarder via the state’s social services department, though Ms. Mitchell refused every time.

“It’s unfortunate because… we’ve tried all along to get her assistance, but she was a very private and solitary lady,” O’Donnell said Sunday.

As of Sunday the police were still looking for relatives. A local funeral home had taken possession of the body.

News of the crushed hoarder has sent shock waves through the small community.