ROMULUS, Mich., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Police say an 8-year-old boy seen wandering around a Romulus, Mich., apartment complex was living with the corpse of his mother, a Hurricane Katrina survivor.

The boy, Trinity Tipado, went next door to a liquor store to try to buy food by using an expired credit card and his mother's drivers license, prompting the owner to call police, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.


Authorities found Gaynell Tipado, 41, dead inside the apartment. They said she had been dead for 10 days.

"I've got three kids. I had the feeling it was something bad," Romulus Liquor Store owner Layth Saco told the newspaper. "He broke down and told me, 'My mom is in a better place now.'"

"Some neighbors saw (Trinity) two or three times in the cold, in his pajamas and didn't do anything," neighbor Curtis Michael said.

Relatives said Gaynell Tipado and her son moved to Michigan from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and losing her husband, the newspaper said. Wayne County officials said they did not suspect foul play in her death. The boy has been placed in foster care, the News said.