(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Susan Menard, a Democrat, served as mayor of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, from 1995 to 2009. She even had a local middle school named after her in 2017.
But in a bizarre turn of events, two decomposed bodies were found in her home by local law enforcement, one being an elderly female and the other an elderly male.
Happening now: Police in #Woonsocket have a home on Marian Lane blocked off with yellow tape — where two bodies were found “severely decomposed” inside, according to the police chief. An investigation is now underway.
Here’s what we know so far: https://t.co/fViC8274B2 @wpri12 pic.twitter.com/q2X2zQW3zn
— Kayla Fish (@KaylaFishTV) September 19, 2022
Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas Oates declined to say if one of the bodies was Menard’s.
The investigation began when a neighbor called the police, noting a foul stench emerging from Menard’s house, especially after not seeing anybody go in or out of the house for several weeks.
Police found the two bodies in separate rooms, both on the first floor of the home.
Though Oates suggested that there are no signs yet of ill intent, further speculation will have to wait until things are affirmed by a medical examiner.
He noted that there were “no outward signs of any foul play or any type of struggle,” adding that both people obviously had “pretty significant” medical issues.
Further, no details as to the time of decomposition have been released, though Police Lt. Matthew Richardson noted that the deceased were in an “advanced state of decomposition.”
Complicating the story, Menard’s brother Robert Miller, 81, passed away last weekend.
Yet it remains “unclear whether one of the bodies was his.”
Current Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt released a statement after hearing the news, which seemed to suggest that one of the bodies was, indeed, Menard’s.
“On behalf of the residents of the city and employees of the city of Woonsocket, we extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends,” she said.
Baldelli-Hunt praised Menard for breaking barriers and becoming only the second female mayor in the town’s history.
Menard will also be remembered for her “strong personality” and “desire to lead,” Baldelli-Hunt added.
