A Michigan man had been living with his girlfriend's decaying body for at least a month and attempting to hide the foul smell by lighting candles when he was arrested Wednesday, authorities said.

David Hall, 49, was charged with concealing the death of an individual and was placed on a $50,000 bond, FOX2 Detroit reported. Authorities uncovered Hall’s morbid secret after neighbors complained about a rotten stench coming from the home. Katrina Baker said she thought it was strange a window was open during the freezing winter.

"Upstairs in our hallway, facing their house, it kind of looks at the window," Baker told FOX2. "Why is this window open in the dead of winter?"

Baker and other neighbors wondered for a month about the smell until the landlord called officers to check on the apartment upstairs. The body of Hall’s girlfriend Kandace Simmons, 56, was found in a bedroom.

"That's crazy. It is absurd. Who would do that?" Baker said.

A preliminary autopsy showed that Simmons, who suffered from unspecified medical issues, may have died from natural causes in early December, FOX2 reported. Hall also had a warrant out for his arrest in a domestic violence case involving Simmons, but police believe there was no foul play involved in her death.

Hall was taken into custody after police conducted a traffic stop.