Neighbours first expressed concern about an unemployed man in January when they noticed his letterbox overflowing with mail in the eastern German town of Erfurt, according to dpa. Repeated calls to the company that administered the block of flats where the 43-year-old lived met with no response. Even when the monthly rent transfers stopped in August, the company took no action other than to issue a series of payment demands, all of which went unanswered. Electricity supplies to the flat had been cut off two months earlier because the bills had not been paid, but the utility company had not informed anyone else. It was only after neighbours demanded urgent action that the company inspected the flat on Tuesday and found the man's mummified body in the bathroom, reports said Thursday. Police ruled out foul play, but an autopsy was ordered to determine the cause and exact time of death.
