Retired Connecticut Detective Found Dead Under Extreme Hoarding Trash

Mary Notarangelo, a 73-year-old retired detective from Bridgeport, Connecticut, was found dead beneath ceiling-high piles of garbage in her home more than seven months after she was reported missing in July 2024. Police bodycam footage and videos reveal an extreme hoarding situation, with the house filled with used toilet paper, feces, plastic bottles, food containers, dead birds, mice, and a lone surviving cat, making it nearly impossible to navigate or safely enter. Officers struggled to open the front door due to the massive heap of trash pressing against it and described the foul odor as so intense it could be "tasted." Despite multiple searches using cadaver dogs, drones, and biohazard cleanup teams, Notarangelo’s remains were only discovered during a second cleanup attempt involving an excavator in February 2025. A friend who last heard from her in mid-June 2024, when she reported abdominal cramps and vomiting after a fall, had initiated the missing person report after noticing bird seed left uneaten outside, which was unusual given her care for her pet birds. Authorities called this one of the most extreme hoarding cases they have encountered, highlighting the dangers and challenges in investigating such environments.