Woman Shares How She Discovered Neighbor's Rotting Body: 'That's Traumatic'

A woman went viral on TikTok after revealing that her upstairs neighbor unknowingly died which caused an infestation of maggots in her apartment.

The woman, known as @lon333lygirl, posted about the incident on TikTok where it received more than 3.8 million views and 3,600 comments. The video can be found here.

The woman's discovery comes just two weeks after police discovered a decomposing body inside a vehicle at a car wash in Kentucky. Lexington police told Newsweek that officers received a report regarding a "foul odor" coming from a vehicle in the parking lot.

One week before that body was discovered, a third decomposed body was found in Lake Mead with the first two being discovered in late May.

Human Decomposition

While there are no national statistics in the United States about unexpectedly encountering a dead body, a report published in the National Library of Medicine found that it is more common in urban areas due to violence and drug use.

Studies show that unexpectedly encountering a dead body can have lasting results on an individual's mental health and can also affect their cardiovascular and immune function.

There are four stages of human decomposition: autolysis, bloat, active decay, and skeletonization. The rate of decomposition varies depending on several factors including temperature, oxygen levels, pH, and moisture content.

'Decomposing Above Me'

In the viral TikTok, the woman shows maggots seemingly entering her apartment through gaps in a light fixture in her ceiling.

"Coming from the dead body that is decomposing above me," the woman said as she showed a maggot fall from the ceiling to the floor. "Oh my god it just f**king fell."

She explained that her upstairs neighbor allegedly died and that maggots have started falling through her ceiling. The woman showed another person picking up the maggots off her apartment floor.

"Oh that's not good," the person said as the woman fake cried.

In an update video, the woman said she immediately alerted her neighbor who said they hadn't seen any bugs in their apartment, but they hadn't heard from her upstairs neighbor in a few days.

"My neighbor then went upstairs and rang his doorbell, smelt a stench, and the doorbell obviously wasn't answered so he contacted the police," she said.

She added that as the maggots were falling through her ceiling, the police and coroner had already arrived at the man's apartment.

Four Stages of Decomposition

Autolysis begins immediately after death, with rigor mortis stiffening the muscles and excess carbon dioxide causing cell membranes to rupture.

During the second stage of decomposition, gasses begin to fill the body resulting in visible bloating. Skin discoloration can also begin at this stage. The body also begins producing a strong odor called putrefaction and bugs can also become present at this stage.

It is difficult to describe the smell of human decomposition, but experts say it is similar to the smell of rotting fruit or meat. Decomposition fluids can also permeate into materials such as carpet, drywall, and concrete, and require specific cleaning methods to remove the smell.

Next, the body enters active decay, in which the skin, muscles, and organs liquify and the cadaver loses most of its mass, including soft tissue and hair.

The last stage of decomposition is skeletonization, in which the remaining collagen and inorganic components of the corpse decompose leaving just a skeleton. This stage often varies in time frame depending on where the corpse is located.

'I Am Going to Sue'

The woman said she then contacted her landlord who "did nothing" and claimed she toured an apartment in the building the day after the man was found even though the entire building still smelled.

She said the landlord did not contact a biohazard crew to clean up the maggots and had to "beg" her to hire an exterminator.

"Then my father came and was like 'I am going to sue,'" the woman said. "So because he threatened that they moved me to the newest apartment in the complex. This apartment is thankfully maggot free and very far away the deceased man's apartment."

The woman said she "expects" her next three months of rent to be waived and to receive a $2,000 reimbursement for "loss of wages" since she claims she had to take off of work.

Viewer Reactions

More than 3,600 viewers commented on the post, many suggesting that the woman contact a lawyer regarding the incident.

"I would have to leave immediately," one user commented receiving more than 98,000 upvotes.

"This is the FIFTH story of this happening I've seen on TT this week alone," another commented. "Apparently it's super common."

"Hi please call your landlord to schedule a bio clean-up. I do this professionally. For now tape a Tupperware to the ceiling," another user suggested.

"WHY IS HE STILL UP THERE?" one user commented.

"Time to sue the complex and call police if you haven't," another user wrote.

"At least 3 months free rent that's traumatic," another commented.

Newsweek reached out to @lon333lygirl for comment.

Other Unexpected Discoveries

On August 14, police in California discovered a decomposing body still sitting in a chair inside a house.

According to police, evidence suggests the body had been there for more than three years. Due to the point of decomposition, officials were unable to identify the cause of death and the identity of the corpse.

Back in February, police in Italy discovered a man who had been living with the corpse of a French woman for three months.