Man's dead body lay for three months

A MAN'S body is thought to have lain undiscovered in his home for more than three months after his death.

Brian McCutcheon, 39, was discovered at his home in Tranent after a concerned neighbour saw flies at the window of his ground floor flat and called police, it was reported today.

Officers who broke in found him dead inside.

It is reported that evidence in the flat when he was found on June 3, including unopened mail, rotting food and newspapers, suggested he had died as long ago as February.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The cause of his death is so far unknown, but a police spokesman said there were thought to be no suspicious circumstances.

A neighbour who did not want to be named said: "He'd lived in the flat for about two years but I'd only seen him a handful of times. He was a friendly enough guy, he always smiled and said hello, but he kept to himself. I definitely haven't seen him about for at least a couple of months.

"We'd noticed a bit of an odd smell a few weeks back but it never occurred to us that it could be anything so horrible as a dead body. We just thought there was some damp in our flat or something.

"It was another neighbour who got in touch with the police after they were out in the (adjacent] back garden and saw loads of flies at his window.

"Then on the Friday I was at work and I got a phone call from a friend that the police were everywhere in our street and they were carrying a body out of the flat.

"It's such a shame. I can't believe no friends or family ever stopped by to see him or figured out something was wrong."

It is understood Mr McCutcheon suffered from epilepsy.

An East Lothian Council spokeswoman said he had been receiving support from its social care department briefly in 2009 but chose to stop receiving assistance that same year.

Mr McCutcheon lived in a housing development known as The Hedges, which is owned by East Lothian Housing Association. Director of housing Tracey Kerr, said the development had been inspected by staff in April and staff had tried to speak to Mr McCutcheon about carrying out a minor repair to his home but received no answer.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: "There was nothing to indicate in this case that there was problem.

"We carry out regular inspections of our properties but had received no information to suggest that there was anything wrong."