Decomposing body found inside 'hoarder' house

MacKenzie Elmer | The Des Moines Register

DES MOINES, Iowa — A man was found dead inside a home, months after a company here acquired it for unpaid taxes.

Two employees of Neighborhood Finance Corp, which gained ownership of the home April 24, visited Thursday to examine the house and discovered a decomposing body on the living room couch.

Des Moines police arrived about 3:30 p.m. CT and in their report described the former homeowner as a hoarder because piles of garbage and boxes were everywhere.

Paul Jennett, 57, had owned the property since December 1996, according to Polk County Assessment records. Among his delinquent payments was $1,296.52 to the Board of Health, according to the Polk County Treasurer's office.

Neighborhood Finance Corp., a not-for-profit mortgage lender here, had served the property owner with a notice of the sale of the deed to the property and had waited 90 days for a response, but none came, treasurer records show.

One of the corporation's employees told police that the man had post-traumatic stress disorder and never left the house. Neighbors said he had all of his food delivered, but they had not seen him for a year and a half.

The most recent dated piece of paper police could find was from an electric and plumbing company dated April 5, 2012.

Police have not confirmed the identity of the body, "but all evidence points towards Jennett," the report states.

A call to Neighborhood Finance Corp. was not immediately returned.