The identification of a mummified body has brought an end to a ten-year mystery for a grieving family.
Just moments after watching a news report about the grisly discovery of a rotting body in a Sydney hoarder home, Tracy Trudgitt heard a knock at the door.
A homicide squad detective then told Ms Trudgitt the body had been identified as her long-lost big brother, Shane John Snellman.
The identification of a mummified body has brought an end to a ten-year mystery for a grieving family (pictured is Shane John Snellman)
Just moments after watching a news report about the grisly discovery of a rotting body in a Sydney hoarder home (pictured), Tracy Trudgitt heard a knock at the door
A homicide squad detective then told Ms Trudgitt the body had been identified as her long-lost big brother, Shane John Snellman (pictured are police at the scene of the discovery)
When she was told her brother had died, Ms Trudgitt reacted with horror, and remembered thinking the body must have been somebody’s husband or brother.
‘I screamed and just fell to the floor. I’m still in shock. I can’t believe this has happened,’ Ms Trudgitt told The Australian.
She had last seen her brother on a visit to jail ten years earlier, but said he had ‘never been forgotten’.
Mr Snellman, would who have been 55 had he lived, is believed to have suffered a fatal gunshot wound about six years ago.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Snellman suffered ‘numerous injuries’ and significant trauma.
He was known to police for a number of crimes, and had convictions for drug supply firearms possession, theft, larceny, break and enter and malicious injury.
The body was on Tuesday named as Shane John Snellman, 30, who was known to police for multiple crimes
A gun and an old Nokia mobile phone may unravel the mystery of how a mummified body was left rotting inside a house for more than 10 years
No missing persons report was lodged with authorities, New South Wales Police said on Tuesday.
Mr Snellman’s father John described his son as a ‘good boy’ with a rebellious streak which often led to trouble with the police.
‘He would work at different stages and we had him with us for a while but then he would get the wanders and away he would go,’ Mr Snellman said.
About 15 years ago Mr Snellman searched jails for his son after he went missing but was unable to find him.
Unbeknownst to his family, Shane Snellman wound up dead in the run down home of reclusive hoarder Bruce Roberts on Greendale Street, Greenwich, on Sydney’s lower north shore.
A mobile phone, believed to be an older model Nokia, will also be examined for clues to Mr Snellman’s fate
A gun was recovered from the property during the search and is being tested by forensic experts, AAP understands.
A mobile phone, believed to be an older model Nokia, will also be examined for clues to Mr Snellman’s fate.
Mr Roberts died of natural causes in the home in July 2017 and his body was discovered shortly after local shop attendants realised he had stopped going on grocery runs.
The piles of rubbish and junk which fill the home apparently meant Mr Roberts’ body was removed without anyone noticing Mr Snellman’s corpse in the living room.
The piles of rubbish and junk which fill the home apparently meant Mr Roberts’ body was removed without anyone noticing Mr Snellman’s corpse in the living room
The executor of Mr Robert’s estate sent cleaners to the run-down home last Tuesday where they discovered the partly-skeletal remains under a pile of debris.
Mr Roberts was reportedly a familiar sight pacing about the leafy suburb.
While he would quietly exchange pleasantries with neighbours and passers-by, he has been described as a ‘loner’ and ‘child-like’ while police confirmed he had mental health issues.
It now seems investigators are being forced to consider whether Mr Roberts was living for years alongside Mr Snellman’s body.
It now seems investigators are being forced to consider whether Mr Roberts was living for years alongside Mr Snellman’s body