Hazardous Hoarding Delayed Discovery of Retired Detective

Mary Notarangelo, a 73-year-old retired Connecticut detective, was found dead in her Glastonbury home in February 2024, months after she was last seen alive. Severe hoarding conditions, with six-foot-high piles of garbage, dead birds, mice, and a live cat, made the house nearly inaccessible. Police attempted multiple searches and ultimately needed specialized teams and equipment, including a small excavator, to enter the home. Notarangelo's last communication with a friend in June 2024 mentioned illness and a fall, prompting a welfare check nearly a month later. The state medical examiner could not determine her cause of death due to the skeletal state of her remains. Officials said the hazardous hoarding environment significantly delayed the search and discovery.