It took months to find the skeletal remains of retired detective through 'mountains' of trash at her home, police say

Connecticut police said they visited the home of a retired detective at least four times to try to find the missing woman, but the "mountains" of trash kept them from finding her body.

Mary Notarangelo, 73, was reported missing in July 2024, and police tried to look for her at her home at Glastonbury but encountered piles of trash that impended their investigation.

'There was no path whatsoever. The only way to move from room to room was by climbing over the garbage.'

Police said they visited the home looking for Notarangelo three times in July and once in November. In one incident they tried to send in a drone, but it got caught in cobwebs and became disabled.

It wasn't until February 24 that workers using a small excavator found Notarangelo's skeletal remains.

Notarangelo‘s body was found inside the front door under what was described as "multiple feet" of garbage, clothing, and blankets.

Police said the mountains of garbage sometimes reached 6 feet high. They saw dead birds inside of cages and a mouse infestation. They also found one cat in the home.

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“There was no path whatsoever. The only way to move from room to room was by climbing over the garbage,” said Officer Anthony Longo.

The friend who called police had told investigators that Notarangelo had told him via text that she had abdominal cramps, vomiting, and had fallen down in June.

The state medical examiner’s office said that they could not make a determination on the cause of the woman's death because of the advanced decomposition of her remains.

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