The sister of the man, whose skeletal remains were found by cleaners, says she is in shock

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A man whose mummified body lay for more than a decade in the ramshackle Sydney home of a hoarder, had a led troubled life and was estranged from his family.

The man, believed to have been rotting inside the derelict Greenwich property for more than 10 years, has been named as Shane John Snellman.

The body of the home owner, Bruce Roberts, was found and removed from the same property in 2017, but Snellman’s corpse was not discovered at the time.

Snellman was known to police for numerous crimes, which were reportedly low-level, and no missing persons report was lodged with authorities, NSW Police said on Tuesday.

A post-mortem examination showed Snellman had suffered a number of injuries and his death is being treated as suspicious, investigators said last week.

His long-lost sister Tracy Trudgitt says the family lost contact with her older brother more than four decades ago when he was placed in the welfare system.

She says she screamed and fell to the floor of her Sydney home when detectives told her they had found her brother’s remains.



“I’m still in shock. I can’t believe this has happened.”

She told the Australian that Snellman, who would have been 55 if alive, was one of five children.

She last saw her brother 10 years ago, during a jail visit, and says their father also tried to find him.

“He has never been forgotten,” Trudgitt said on Wednesday.

Snellman’s body was discovered in the run down home of the hoarder in the northern harbourside suburb of Greenwich.

Roberts died of natural causes in the home in July 2017 and his body was discovered shortly after local shop attendants realised he had stopped going on grocery runs.

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The piles of rubbish and junk which fill the home apparently meant Roberts’ body was removed without anyone noticing Snellman’s corpse in the living room.

The executor of Robert’s estate sent cleaners to the home last Tuesday where they discovered the skeletal remains under a pile of debris.



Roberts was reportedly a familiar sight pacing about the leafy suburb.



While he would quietly exchange pleasantries with neighbours and passers-by, he has been described as a “loner” and “child-like”. Police confirmed he had mental health issues.



It now seems investigators are being forced to consider whether Roberts was living for years alongside Snellman’s corpse.

It’s understood a gun was recovered from the property during the search and is being tested by forensic experts A mobile phone, believed to be an older model Nokia, will also be examined for clues to Snellman’s fate.