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Last updated on Thursday, June 5, 2014
(LAFAYETTE) - A coroner says an 88-year-old Lafayette man was dead inside his home for nine months before authorities knew about his death.
Neighbors tell the Journal & Courier that Gerald Gavan's wife lived in the home during that time and acted as if all was normal.
Tippecanoe County coroner Donna Avolt says a forensic entomologist determined Gavan had been dead since at least last July. Police found his body May 3 on his living room floor.
Ila Solomon tells the newspaper that her husband of two years didn't die until April 28. Solomon said dehumidifiers, rodents and flies accelerated the decomposition of Gavan's body enough in five days for an expert to think he'd been dead much longer.
Avolt says she's awaiting toxicology results to determine how Gavan died.
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