Residents of a St. James Town apartment building were shocked to discover the smell that had been fouling the air of an entire floor for over a week turned out to be a dead body.

Police confirmed Monday that the body of a 90-year-old woman was removed from the 12th floor of the apartment building at 77 Howard Street in the Bloor and Parliament streets area.

Residents of the 12th floor had been complaining of a smell on the floor for over a week.

“It’s insane,” one resident said in an email. “The smell actually started last Sunday morning the 24th of April.”

She says she complained to the apartment’s superintendent but nothing was done.

“We didn’t think they were taking us serious,” she said. “Last night when we were in the elevator with other tenants, someone got off the 12th floor and the whole floor was the same smell coming through the vents.

What I don’t understand is that how long do we have to wait until the superintendent will react?”

Several calls to the property manager and superintendent from CityNews have gone unanswered.

Police confirmed the body removed from the building had been there “for a while.”