Mother Sleeps Next To COVID-Positive Son's Corpse For 3 Days Without Knowing He's Dead

An elderly woman in India was found sleeping next to the corpse of her 50-year-old son, who died of COVID-19. Authorities said the woman did not know her son was dead.

The shocking incident took place in the southern state of Kerala. According to media reports, the police arrived at the home to find the 80-year-old woman and her two adult children lying next to the corpse of the 50-year-old man.

Authorities said the victim, who has been identified only as Aji, died at least three days ago. A COVID-19 test report of the dead body came positive, On Manorama reported.

The woman, identified by her first name Chellamma, and her two children -- Mini, 52, and Raju, 40 -- were the only people in the house when the body was found.

The incident came to light when a village official visited their house Tuesday afternoon and spotted the body of Aji. The official, identified as Salimol Joseph, arrived at the home in connection with documents for financial assistance for the family that was being provided by the village committee.

Joseph became suspicious after she smelled a bad odor emanating from the home. When she entered the room, she found Aji’s body on the bed.

When asked, Chellamma said Aji was unwell, which was why he was apparently having only water.

Joseph immediately reported the incident and the police arrived at the scene to move Aji’s body to a local government hospital, One India Malayalam reported [Google Translate showed].

Joseph said Chellamma and her children were having psychiatric problems. It remains unclear if any other family member had tested positive for COVID-19.

A neighbor told local media no one visited their home because of Aji’s violent behavior.

The Union Health Ministry data Thursday stated India logged 14,148 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to more than 42 million, while the active cases dipped to 148,359. The number of dead climbed to 512,924 with 302 fresh fatalities, the data said. The daily COVID-19 cases have remained below 100,000 for 18 consecutive days. The country had seen a steep jump in the COVID-19 numbers after the Omicron variant was found.