70 Year old Dead watching TV

eh1eh

Blah Blah Blah
Aug 31, 2006
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Under a Lone Palm
70-Year-Old Man Found Dead in Front of TV a Year Later

Sunday, February 18, 2007
By Hannah Sentenac

HAMPTON BAYS, N.Y. — Vincenzo 'Vinnie' Ricardo was the proverbial tree that fell in the forest: No one knew.
From what police in Hampton Bays, N.Y., can determine, the 70-year-old was sitting alone watching TV in his two-story home when he died.
That was more than a year ago, and when workers were summoned to his house last week after a report that freezing temperatures had caused the home's pipes to burst, they found Ricardo's mummified body still sitting on the couch, the TV still on.
A neighbor of Ricardo's, Deanna Devon, was shocked that no one discovered him sooner.
"He was blind and he used to wander into the street. I used to worry he would get hit," she told FOXNews.com.
Vinnie was often seen walking in the streets with his cane, Devon said.
Ricardo had been stricken blind in his 50s and suffered from diabetes.
He apparently died of natural causes, according to Dr. Stuart Dawson, Suffolk County deputy chief medical examiner.

The rest of the article is here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252591,00.html
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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HAMPTON BAYS, N.Y. — Vincenzo 'Vinnie' Ricardo was the proverbial tree that fell in the forest: No one knew.
From what police in Hampton Bays, N.Y., can determine, the 70-year-old was sitting alone watching TV in his two-story home when he died.
That was more than a year ago, and when workers were summoned to his house last week after a report that freezing temperatures had caused the home's pipes to burst, they found Ricardo's mummified body still sitting on the couch, the TV still on.
A neighbor of Ricardo's, Deanna Devon, was shocked that no one discovered him sooner.
"He was blind and he used to wander into the street. I used to worry he would get hit," she told FOXNews.com.
Vinnie was often seen walking in the streets with his cane, Devon said.
Ricardo had been stricken blind in his 50s and suffered from diabetes.
He apparently died of natural causes, according to Dr. Stuart Dawson, Suffolk County deputy chief medical examiner.
If he was blind, how could he watch TV?
 

Sparrow

Council Member
Nov 12, 2006
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Quebec
It sure is not a glowing report card for humanity and caring for your neighbors. I find this appaling but must say I live in a town of 20,000 and most of us are friends with out neighbors and keep an eye out for each other.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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They didn't say which channel he was turning his blind eyes to. There is every chance he was bored to death. "A neighbor was shocked that nobody discovered him". Why didn't she discover him? I'm afraid neighbors aren't as caring as they once were. I remember, when I was a kid, my mom telling me to go and ask if old Mrs. Whoever needed anything. Times have changed.
 

Libra Girl

Electoral Member
Feb 27, 2006
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They didn't say which channel he was turning his blind eyes to. There is every chance he was bored to death. "A neighbor was shocked that nobody discovered him". Why didn't she discover him? I'm afraid neighbors aren't as caring as they once were. I remember, when I was a kid, my mom telling me to go and ask if old Mrs. Whoever needed anything. Times have changed.

You asked the question that immediately sprang to my mind yuan. If the neighbor was so worried that he might wander into the street and get knocked down, how is it that she didn't wonder where he had been for so long?
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
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bliss
what awful neighbors!

A dear friend of mine had noticed that her elderly neighbor had been gone over the christmas holidays one year, and was MORTIFIED when firemen rushed in about two days after Christmas, broke down her front door, and rescued the poor woman from the floor of her basement where she had fallen down the stairs and broken her hip. She laid down there for 6 days, because everyone was thinking she had gone somewhere for Christmas celebrations and just not let her plans be known. her daughter (who lived across the country) had finally realized something was wrong. The whole neighborhood felt AWFUL. Imagine how you'd feel after a year. Sheesh.
 

Avro

Time Out
Feb 12, 2007
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Oshawa
Mummified man found in front of TV

February 20, 2007
Reuters

NEW YORK – Police called to a Long Island man's house discovered the mummified remains of the resident, dead for more than a year, sitting in front of a blaring television set.
The 70-year-old Hampton Bays, New York, resident, identified as Vincenzo Ricardo, appeared to have died of natural causes. Police said Saturday his body was discovered Thursday when they were called to the house over a burst water pipe.
"You could see his face. He still had hair on his head," Newsday quoted morgue assistant Jeff Bacchus as saying. The home's low humidity had preserved the body.
Officials could not explain why the electricity had not been turned off, considering Ricardo had not been heard from since December 2005.
Neighbours said when they had not seen Ricardo, who was diabetic and had been blind for years, they assumed he was in the hospital or a long-term care facility.

http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/183641
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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Not making light-------not making intentional light of a tragic situation where a man had nobody who care enough to look in on him for over a year, I thought that this would make a hell of a commercial for the TV manufacturer. The slogan could be "Our TVs will last longer than you". They could show the TV going with a variety of programs while the man watching slowly decomposes over the length of the commercial. This actually happened folks, get your new Acme TV today...:)
 

eh1eh

Blah Blah Blah
Aug 31, 2006
10,749
103
48
Under a Lone Palm
Not making light-------not making intentional light of a tragic situation where a man had nobody who care enough to look in on him for over a year, I thought that this would make a hell of a commercial for the TV manufacturer. The slogan could be "Our TVs will last longer than you". They could show the TV going with a variety of programs while the man watching slowly decomposes over the length of the commercial. This actually happened folks, get your new Acme TV today...:)

I'll alert Sony. They could use a good campaign right now.