Woman's body lay rotting in hallway for WEEKS inside home she shared with man who never raised the alarm

By WILLIAM TOM FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 00:55, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 01:04, 18 May 2026 A woman's decomposing body lay in the hallway of a home she shared with a man for weeks before being discovered by a relative after the man was detained for a medical assessment. The 61-year-old woman's body was found on Saturday by a family member of a 55-year-old man who lived with her at a New Town home in Hobart's north. Police and members of the acute mental health team had attended the property on Saturday morning to take him for a mental health assessment but did not enter the cluttered home, Tasmania Police Detective Inspector David Gill said. 'The mental health team and police have spoken to the male person at the residence where he was immediately detained for that mental health assessment and conveyed to the Royal Hobart Hospital,' he told reporters. 'It wasn't until later that day that another person attended the address to visit, and then found the body of the deceased woman on the floor.' Det Insp Gill said it was apparent the woman had been dead inside the house for a number of weeks. 'The male person has not made any disclosures of any form to members of Tasmania Police,' he said. Det Insp Gill confirmed the man's mental health referral was made by someone else, and said he was being held at the Hobart Reception Prison after completion of his treatment while investigations continued.  Investigations continue after a 61-year-old woman's body was found inside a share house in Hobart's north The grim discovery was made by a family member of a 55-year-old man who lived with her. The home remained a crime scene on Sunday Detective Inspector David Gill said it was apparent the woman had been dead inside the house for a number of weeks 'At this stage, he has not been charged with any offence,' he said. The home the pair had shared for some time was 'chaotic', with clutter everywhere. 'When police attend any scene where a person is deceased, it's obviously confronting and distressing, and this was no different,' Det Insp Gill said. Police are treating the woman's death as suspicious, given she had been dead inside the house for weeks, but are keeping an open mind to her dying from natural causes. An autopsy will be performed on Monday to ascertain the woman's cause of death. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.