Posted on 08/28/2004 8:55:02 AM PDT by bwteim
Aug. 27, 2004
Man lay dead in bed for two years
Condo fees and bills were still being paid
Body finally found in mummified state
No one knew Jim Sulkers had died in his bed almost two years ago. Neighbour Sam Shuster said residents in the complex often wondered where the man they knew only as Jim had gone, but were told his condominium fees were still being paid. "How can that happen, for God's sake. Two years!" Shuster said yesterday of the man who had been a resident in the building since the mid-1980s. "I used to ask the president of the board of directors where in the hell is he? She said all she knew was the bank gets the monthly money so we don't worry about it." Sulkers' remains were discovered Wednesday. Manitoba's chief medical examiner, Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra, determined he had died of natural causes. Sulkers, believed to be in his 50s, had multiple sclerosis. Balachandra said there were no signs of trauma and he was able to quickly rule out homicide, suicide or accident as a cause of death. But because the body was in a mummified state, he could not determine an exact cause. He said a newspaper dated Nov. 21, 2002, was found in the man's apartment and a wall calendar was opened to November 2002 — evidence the man died nearly two years ago. A cousin, Kim Dyck of Winnipeg, said she lost contact with the man after his mother died about 10 years ago, but relatives had attempted to make contact with Sulkers last summer when they were in the city for a wedding. "They knocked on his door and he didn't answer," she said. "You assume he isn't home. You certainly don't assume he's dead." She said the man's bills must have been covered by a pension cheque automatically deposited into his bank account. Neighbours said Sulkers' mailbox had become full several times and was always emptied by a letter carrier. Canada Post spokesman Brian Garagan said letter carriers are required to clear full mailboxes and inform a supervisor, who calls the condo owner. He said the corporation was trying to determine if that policy was followed. He said Sulkers' mail delivery was halted at some point but he wasn't sure when. He said he would be talking to the letter carrier on the route. Marcel Baril, executive director of the Family Centre in Winnipeg, called the situation bizarre and sad. "It's odd that we live in a society where technology can take care of our affairs like that, even if we passed away two years ago, and nobody's noticed." A spokeswoman for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada said the disease itself was not fatal but complications could be. Canadian Press
WINNIPEG—His telephone number was still listed in the telephone directory and his condominium fees and bills were automatically being withdrawn from his bank account.
Please won't you be my neighbor?
Don't ya love it?
His name was "Sulker", huh? Looks like he really took it literally.
There are people in Congress that have been dead longer than that.
Pinging neighbors....
Treat people like mindless slaves and that is what they will become.
Insert Al Gore joke here.
Excellent analogy for the John F'n Kerry campaign.
LOL. I would have used this headline:
"Mummified Canadian man goes unnoticed for two years " from a NZ newspaper,
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3587664&thesection=news&thesubsection=world
but I was afraid that it would go unnoticed... confusing mummies and legislators and all that ;)
Man lay dead in bed for two years
Must have been DEAD TIRED.....
It seems like he was really resting in peace.
Anyhow if he died in his sleep what could the neighbors have done for him then? Being in your own bed with your bills all paid up wouldn't be worse than being in a casket under the ground.
Righto! Would have been a mess - yet would have been discovered more quickly. My neighbor's dogs would have burrowed a hole through the sheet rock looking for more fresh meat.
It seems like he was really resting in peace.
Anyhow if he died in his sleep what could the neighbors have done for him then? Being in your own bed with your bills all paid up wouldn't be worse than being in a casket under the ground.
Sad but true.
And I assume that the Democrats already have the dead guy signed up to vote early and often!
Good name. Speaking of which is his Good "Neighbour Sam" Shuster
New Democrat voter is created
Just damn?
Most of us would like to die in peace - no doubt. But it is the lack of Good "Neighbour Sams" in the area that is disturbing.
Homeland Security has already been contacted about this "sleeper".
Canadians are among the original snowbirds. Could have been a possible Florida voter!
Didn't this poor man have any friends or relatives that were wondering why they hadn't heard from him? How sad is that?
Heheh.
The hot, dry and clean environment meant the body did not decompose, but rather dried up, ["Thambirajah Balachandra, who investigates deaths in the province]"
I'm wondering ? Does he get a refund for all the services paid since November 2002 ?
Guess relatives don't keep tabs on each other too often.... about every two years, just a wild stab, would be my best guess.
"Winnipeg police found the body of 52-year-old Jim Sulkers preserved in his tidy apartment after a relative phoned police to ask them to check on him."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3587664&thesection=news&thesubsection=world
A middle-aged Jewish man calls the family doctor on the telephone.
"Doc, this is Irving Schwartz. I think Sadie is dead."
"What do you mean 'You think she's dead?'"
"Well, the sex is pretty much the same, but the dishes are starting to pile up!"
Maybe that's common with apartment living in a big city --- you know less of your neighbors than those living in a small town. I wouldn't have to worry --- the mortgage company and bill collectors would be making sure I wasn't resting in peace.
That's awful.....
but really funny!
Possibly, but he voted liberal twice.
I guess I was thinking close relatives. I know I have a lot of relatives that I don't keep in touch with. I was thinking along the lines of siblings, nieces, nephews. Sad to think the man didn't have anyone close enough to check on him more often than every couple of years.
Could be great opportunity for a business to advertise that HVAC system installed in the condo.........
http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mb_body20040826
Still, neighbours noticed nothing amiss....
"Nobody has smelled anything, but you know we have a good ventilation system," says Bertha Claeys, who lives down the hall.
Ping
I agree - and I did not post the article to make fun of the deceased - rather the state of affairs. But there's also the case of persons at the end of their family tree so to speak - no children, no surviving brothers, sisters, etc. By not having made arrangements for a periodic checkup, you may well die unnoticed - at least for a while.
It certainly is a pretty sad and lonely way to go.
Belated prayers for the poor man's soul.
RIP.
Maybe he was the last of his friends and family to die.
Update Update Update
FATHER..................
Jim Sulkers, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, was found mummified in his second-floor suite at 870 Cambridge St. on Wednesday after his father called police to check on his well-being.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2004/08/28/605768.html
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2004/08/28/pf-605768.html
Told dead man gone Advised he moved: Canada Post
By CARY CASTAGNA, POLICE REPORTER
A 52-year-old man -- who lay dead in the bed of his River Heights condominium for nearly two years -- stopped getting mail this month because his caretaker said he moved out, Canada Post says. "Why were we told a couple of weeks ago that he moved?" asked Brian Garagan, the Winnipeg-based Canada Post spokesman. "The caretaker told the letter carrier that this guy moved."
Jim Sulkers, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, was found mummified in his second-floor suite at 870 Cambridge St. on Wednesday after his father called police to check on his well-being.
Sulkers had died in his sleep on or some time after Nov. 21, 2002, according to Manitoba's chief medical examiner Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra.
Amazingly, through a series of circumstances, Sulkers' death -- which has been attributed to natural causes -- went unnoticed for 21 months.
First, Sulkers was a recluse. Long before his death, he stopped accepting phone calls or answering the door, his family said.
AUTOMATIC DEPOSITS, WITHDRAWALS
Also, Sulkers' disability cheques were automatically deposited into his bank account, while his condo fees and other bills were automatically withdrawn.
Instead of decomposing, Sulkers' body mummified or "dried up" in his well-sealed condo and there was no noticeable odour, according to Balachandra.
When his mail piled up in his first-floor panel mailbox, Sulkers' letter carrier bundled it up and took it back to the post office where it was eventually returned to sender.
But two weeks ago, when the mailman tried to deliver a registered letter to Sulkers, the resident manager allegedly told him Sulkers was no longer living there, Garagan said.
The superintendent, who lives on the first floor, and Winpark Dynasty Properties, which manages the nine-floor complex, have repeatedly refused comment.
'BREAKS MY HEART'
"That condo has so many elderly people that reside there, in my opinion, they should be more aware of what's going on in their building," said Sulkers' 22-year-old niece, Nicole Kurtz. "And to turn around and say, 'We don't care, we're getting our money,' that just breaks my heart."
Relatives will remember Sulkers, who would have turned 54 on Oct. 23, as "incredibly warm and loving," said his niece.
Sulkers worked in the City of Winnipeg's engineering department, taking early retirement in 1992 due to his illness.
Besides no longer answering the phone or the door before his death, Sulkers sold his car and motorized scooter and stopped leaving his apartment.
"It wasn't like he was pushing us away," Kurtz said. "We understood that he enjoyed to be by himself."
It got to the point where family members would set a warm dinner outside his door at Christmas.
"We'd come back half an hour later, and the food was gone," Kurtz said, adding her uncle became more and more reclusive.
"All of a sudden, our mail started coming back, and we thought it was the next step of his withdrawal."
Last October, relatives contemplated calling police to check on Sulkers.
"But we knew he didn't want that and we knew how embarrassed he would've been," Kurtz said. "In retrospect, we do feel very guilty."
I bet the neighbors dog loved the meal.
What about this story do you see as socialism?
Technology advances (due to capitalism) allowed his affairs to continue. An impersonal post office and homeowner's association(due to competitive pressure) resulted in no action being taken. Since he was on a pension (another development of free enterprise), you can't even claim that social programs resulted in increased family distance.
I'm not in favor of socialism, but I don't understand people who label everything in our society as socialism. They are labeling black as white and white as black.
Reminds me of Charlies four grand parents in "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory", Never got out of bed and let someone else do all the work.
A good object lesson on Democrats vs. Republicans that my children will not likely forget.
LOL
Gee I knew not having enough money must have some benefit. My bill collectors will know I'm dead before I get cold.
They call often checking up on me.
Not that familiar with Willie Wonka to know the grandparents - however, I think this transcends political franchises. This man was not loafing in bed.
The man worked, was ill, retired early, stayed home (a lot), lived on what he had earned, and nobody followed up on him. And as I found later (the man did have close relatives including a father and a cousin or two).
Uh, you didn't notice either, Nicole.
Good thing he didn't have any dogs.
******
YYYEEEEWWWW....!!! Where did THAT thought come from? rofl
you took the words right out of my mouth.
was he a lib, and did he vote for the past two years.
or better yet, was he still making donations to the party?
He was sleeping in..
Well --- that was certainly the truth.
I don't see any socialism in this --- and some people like to be recluses, they don't like people knocking on their doors ever 10 minutes. It would seem he could have been involved in social groups, churches, his family or whatever if he wanted and then someone would have checked up on him, when you choose to be a recluse, this wouldn't be surprising.
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