Two Badly Decomposed Bodies Found Hidden In Former Rhode Island Mayor's Home
Sept. 20 2022, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Police found two bodies "in a lengthy stage of decomposition" inside former Rhode Island Mayor Susan Menard's home, Radar has learned.
Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas Oates said that a neighbor notified police that he hadn't seen the elderly couple who lived in the home in about a week and that a strong odor from coming from the residence, which is located on Marian Lane in Woonsocket.
According to Woonsocket's website, Menard, whom Oates said owned the residence, was Woonsocket's longest-serving mayor from 1995-2009. When police responded to the home they found two people dead, a man and a woman. Oates said they couldn't be positively identified because they were in such bad shape.
The medical examiner is working to identify the bodies and determine the cause of death. “There’s no outward signs of any foul play or any type of a struggle,” Oates said. “We’re aware that both of these individuals, if they're who we think they are, had medical issues that were pretty significant.”
Police did not say if Menard was one of the people found dead. Woonsocket has a population of 43,000 and is located approximately 20 miles northwest of Providence.
One Woonsocket resident, Lorraine Tessier, was perplexed as how it took so long for the bodies to be found, according to NBC News. “I haven’t seen them in a while because my sister usually walks this all the time and on occasion, I’d walk with her around the neighborhood and I haven’t seen them in a while,” Tessier said. “Didn’t anybody check on them? Grandchildren? Son? What happened?”