Man found dead in apartment after laying undiscovered for three years

A man has been found dead in an apartment after laying undiscovered for three years.

Police in Sweden said the man appeared to have been dead for that amount of time judging by the post and newspapers found near the door of the property and food inside the fridge.

A radio was still playing inside the apartment and police found a light on when they arrived at the scene in the Skanstull area of Södermalm, in Stockholm, on Monday.

Viktor Adolphson, a police officer in Södermalm​, initially said the man, described as elderly, was discovered when the direct debit payments for his rent stopped.

However he later tweeted that the payments continued to run as normal and it was in fact the man’s concerned neighbours who raised the alarm.

The police officer added: “There were neighbours who warned that the man had not been seen for a long time. It is good that people care after all.”

Mr Adolphson said police believed the man had died of natural causes but that the official cause of death will be determined by a forensic expert, The Local reports.

He added that it was uncommon for someone’s death to remain undiscovered for so long but that it happens on occasion.

He told The Local: “Most often, someone notices if there’s a friend or someone had booked an appointment with the person, they’ll notice that the person isn’t there. But it happens, unfortunately.”