Tennessee family of 4 found living with mother's badly decomposed body under pile of clothes for nearly 2 years
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: A shocking discovery was made by Nashville police on October 21 after they found four adult siblings living with the dead body of their mother. Officers from Davidson County Sheriff's office went to the River Chase Apartments in East Nashville to serve an eviction notice for past due rent payments, according to a report by KMOV.
However, what they discovered was beyond anyone's imagination. Laronda Jolly's badly decomposed body was found under a pile of clothes on the bed. An autopsy was conducted and medical examiner Dr Feng Li said that the 56-year-old might have died over a year ago. The autopsy report also showed no obvious sign of trauma or proof of any foul play.
Laronda had lived in the apartment with her four kids — a 30-year-old woman, two 27-year-old twin brothers and a 27-year-old sister. According to the police, all of them were intellectually disabled. They reportedly did not inform anyone about their mother's death.
According to PEOPLE, Laronda's brother, Anthony Jolly, said, "She was on a bed, they piled clothes on top of her body and they stayed in the apartment with their decaying mother. They knew better, but they were going by what their mother said, they were obeying their mother’s wishes – just let her lay there, no matter what. Don't call anybody, and that’s what they done. For them to stay in that apartment with your own mother’s decaying body, I can't understand it -- and I guess I never will understand it."
Anthony also said that he last talked to his sister "well over two years ago". "I started going down there, and my nieces and nephews would say, 'Well she's asleep. You can’t see her right now'. I would say, 'Well all I want to do is see my sister. If I can just see her face I’ll be fine and I’ll leave you alone'," he added before mentioning that he now believes the siblings intentionally misled him since when he called one of them spoke with him in their mother's voice.
"They lied every time. They would not tell me the truth," he stated. According to reports, Anthony now wants to know what exactly happened to his sister. He said one of the siblings told him they were "obeying their mother’s wishes to let (her) lay there."
"That’s what they told me, but everything else they told me is a lie. So, you know, I’m not sure if I believe that either,” he said adding his niece said to him that Laronda died three years ago,. However, the police said that the children told them their mother may have died in 2018. "We want to know what happened to her. We want to know the cause of death if they can determine the cause of death," Anthony said.
Now, the grieving brother wants to cremate his sister and hold a memorial service for her, but without her kids. "I don't care what happens to them because I tried, I tried to talk to them. I tried to get them to tell me the truth. So, at this point, I don't care where they go. They can be homeless for all I care. I know that's hard but what they done to me is worse," Anthony explained.
"She was a person that once you met her, most people would just fall in love with my sister because she was just that kind of person. She could talk to anybody and talk about anything to anybody." Meanwhile, the four siblings have been helped by adult protective services, including Nashville Inner-city Ministry, who provided them with a hotel for the time being. No charges have been brought against anyone in the case as the investigation continues.