Authorities in Antwerp have opened an investigation after a mummified body was found stashed inside the cupboard of an apartment.
The mummified corpse was identified as a that of a woman in her sixties named Monique V.P., whose body officials believe remained inside the closet for up to three years, according to reports on Thursday.
The woman's death was announced in 2017 by her Rita V.H.,62, who has been identified as her partner by Flemish media and shared a flat with her in Kommekensstraat, in central Antwerp.
While V.H. had said ta the time that the woman died from cancer, the investigation will seek to determine her cause of death, which may prove challenging due to the state of the corpse.
The probe will also look into V.H.'s mental state, who reportedly suffers from Korsakoff syndrome, a chronic memory disorder, and who was recently interned in a medical facility.
It was the owner of the apartment who made the grim discovery in late September, during a cleaning of the apartment which he intended to put back on the rental market.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
