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A 4-year-old boy was found alive in a Union apartment with his dead mother this morning, police say. They believe the mother had died of natural causes nearly a week ago.

(Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)

UNION TOWNSHIP — A 4-year-old boy survived for nearly a week in an apartment with his dead mother's body – until he was found this morning.

The apartment managers responded to reports of a foul odor coming from the second-floor apartment at the Mill Run at Union apartment building around 11:25 a.m., according to Daniel Zieser, the Union Township police director.

Behind the chained door, the managers found the boy. After they called police and entered the apartment, the boy's mother was found dead in bed, Zieser added.

The mother, who had apparently died from natural causes, had been dead between 4 and 6 days, police say.

A 4-year-old boy was found in a Union apartment with his dead mother this morning, police say. They believe the mother had died of natural causes nearly a week ago.

The authorities were called, and the boy was taken to Overlook Medical Center in Summit to be treated for dehydration and malnutrition – but he is expected to fully recover physically, Zieser said.

The police director called the boy a “spunky little kid,” considering his ordeal.

“He’s doing fine,” Zieser said. “He made a statement to the officer, ‘There’s plenty of food in the refrigerator, but I just can’t open it.’”

The boy also apparently rubbed lotion every so often on his mother’s skin, in an attempt to care for her, Zieser said.

The boy’s grandmother had also lived in the apartment until last month, when she suffered two broken hips, the police director said. A neighbor told police that the grandmother had tried to reach her daughter over the past few days, but was unsuccessful.

Police are searching for that grandmother at area nursing homes, and they’re also trying to find the dead woman’s brother who lives in Brooklyn, Zieser added.

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