Family lived alongside 64-year-old man’s corpse for six months, Pennsylvania cops say

A 64-year-old man found dead in a Pennsylvania home had been deceased for six months as his decomposing body laid in a bed as other family members lived there, according to police and news reports.

Greene County Regional Police Chief William DeForte said a relative noticed the 64-year-old man Thursday, Jan. 16, and called for a welfare check at the Canton Township home, KDKA reported.

“Upon arrival, we met the brother. The brother was distraught and basically stated that his brother had passed away,” the police chief told WPXI. “That’s where things took a turn, a very interesting turn.”

The death of the man, later identified as Michael Bebout, was not recent, authorities said. It’s believed he had been dead for around six months before officers found him in his bed, according to WTAE.

Bebout’s body was “in an advanced state of decomposition,” police told WGAL. Officers discovered “deplorable” conditions inside the home, including piled up dog and rodent feces on the floor.

“I don’t think that environment would have been conducive for anybody to live in,” DeForte told WGAL.

Police said Bebout’s death was not a result of foul play, as authorities now investigate why family members did not report his death, according to WPXI. At least three of Bebout’s relatives were living in the home.

Investigators are looking into Bebout’s financials and whether anyone benefited after his death, WGAL reported.

“This usually happens when you have a decedent that had passed away and was left in the house by friends and family,” DeForte told KDKA. “They are normally taking advantage of the residence and/or the financial situation.”

Bebout, according to his obituary, was a father of three and a former manager of a pizzeria. He also had “several grandchildren.”

Canton Township is about a 30-mile drive southwest from Pittsburgh.