# Oh Mom, Poor Mom, You're Hanging in the Basement and I'm Feeling so Sad **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663 "2003-12-30T01:02:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/1 "2003-12-30T01:02:44Z")
The _WTF!?_ news article of the week: (1010 WINS) (Woodbridge, N.J.) Skeletal remains discovered in a basement last week were identified Monday as a woman last seen alive in March, the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office said. Sophia Taggert’s body was found hanging from a pipe attached to a water heater. The prosecutor’s office said she appeared to have committed suicide, but that the death remains under investigation. “There was no indication that the body had been moved at any time between death and the body’s discovery, but the cluttered condition of the basement may account for why the body was not discovered previously,” the office said in a statement. Taggert’s husband, Donald, 57, and their three children still live in the Avenel Street home. A relative discovered the remains on Friday. She was last seen March 10, walking to a nearby store. . . . Soooo, Mom is missing for ten months and no one bothers to look in the basement? No wonder she killed herself . . . ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/2 "2003-12-30T01:15:34Z")
An odd story. What, no smell? I think there is something more there… ---
**Author:** ![snippet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@snippet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snippet)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/3 "2003-12-30T01:17:10Z")
hmm, I don’t remember hearing about this. You would think that eventually the _smell_ would get some attention. On the other hand, if I was ever missing, I know my loving family would leave no stone unturned looking for me, 'cuz then they’d have to cook their own food, wash their own clothes etc… ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/4 "2003-12-30T03:40:21Z")
Maybe the dad killed her and left her to rot so that it looked like first an abandonment and then later, a suicide. He could have thrown the kids off his trail by explaining the smell was from her being gone and no one to clean the mess. And the clutter in the basement can be explained by him saying that he was too distraught to go through items that she owned since she left him, thus giving the body enough time to dessicate. Hanging like jerky. Gross. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/5 "2003-12-30T04:09:48Z")
For about 3 years, we lived in a house that had a basement we never went in once. I’m not really sure why noone ever went in, but noone ever did. Maybe the mother picked the basement because she knew noone would ever go down there. I can’t account for the smell, however. The whole thing seems a little fishy to me too. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/6 "2003-12-30T04:24:13Z")
Was anyone else thinking about _Psycho_ when they opened this thread? Other than that, I have nothing useful to contribute. ---
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/7 "2003-12-30T04:30:51Z")
I was like “oh Crap” . At least I am not a mod and have to report this to the police. Then I saw Eve’s name and thought… First…“Oh crap, she has really cracked up. The need to post what looney ben they send her to so we know where to send the get well card” Second…“She is pretty sensible on this board. It is probably a news article” Thank God the second one was right. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/8 "2003-12-30T06:34:51Z")
Gee, I immediately thought of the Arthur Kopit stage play… ---
**Author:** ![BadBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BadBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBaby)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/9 "2003-12-30T07:08:46Z")
Maybe they had a good de-humidifier in the basement. If she dried out instead of getting well, juicy, then perhaps that explains why they might not have smelled anything. 'Course I’ve known of some people who have such smelly homes a rotting corpse wouldn’t have stuck out, aroma-wise. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/10 "2003-12-30T07:15:55Z")
But if Daddy had even done so much as to report her as a Missing Person to the police, wouldn’t they want assurances that he had at least sort of searched the entire house? Well, I suppose there shoudl be some question asked now, unless it turns out jsut to be a winter silly season story. Plus, her friends/relatives might get bored with being told “No - you cannot speak to her on the 'phone” etc. Well, as the OP so rightly says, WTF! ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/11 "2003-12-30T09:18:17Z")
Maybe they had surrounded her with Camember cheeses. Thus accounting for the smell? ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/12 "2003-12-30T13:03:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by geewhiz \* > \*\*I was like “oh Crap” . At least I am not a mod and have to report this to the police. > > Then I saw Eve’s name and thought… > > First…“Oh crap, she has really cracked up. The need to post what looney ben they send her to so we know where to send the get well card” > > Second…“She is pretty sensible on this board. It is probably a news article”\*\* Yeah, I had the same thoughts. 1. “Omigosh, Eve’s blown a gasket!!!” 2. “Nah. She’s probably writing a country tune.” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/13 "2003-12-30T14:20:05Z")
I hope they send the kids to therapy _now_. “Can’t understand why I[m so afraid of basements . . . Maybe because my Mom was hanging dead in one for nearly a year while we were upstairs watching _South Park_?” And can you imagine the relative who found her? Rummaging around in a dark, cluttered basement, peek around this corner and . . . ! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/14 "2003-12-30T14:31:57Z")
I rarely go down to “Mr. Basement” because it fucking creeps me out. You can’t access it from the house (more of a cellar arrangement), but if it’s cool enough, I would imagine the decomposition factor would be minimal. But the whole story stinks of corruption to me. I would have thought the whole house would have been searched – top to bottom – when she turned up missing. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/15 "2003-12-30T14:32:11Z")
“Dad, can I go to the movies on Saturday?” “Hmmm, better go ask your mother.” “I can’t. She’s hanging in the basement and has decomposed to the point of being little more than rags, bones, and a few tendons…So, can I go?” ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/16 "2003-12-30T14:37:05Z")
Cue Bates music: _Scree! Scree! Scree! Scree!_ I shouldn’t gest, I know. I wrong. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/17 "2003-12-30T14:47:52Z")
She went missing in MARCH? And they only just found her in the BASEMENT? Definitly suspicious. “Maybe she fell in the basement, hurt herself, and can’t get up! Oh sod it, I’ll check NEXT month…” ---
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/18 "2003-12-30T15:15:45Z")
Kalhoun: my basement creeps me out too but tf there was a strange noise or smell, I would buck it up and go down to check it out. There is a door in my half bath where I can acess it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/19 "2003-12-30T15:38:19Z")
That water heater must have one hell of a pilot light. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663/20 "2003-12-30T15:41:48Z")
This article [http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/7596242.htm](http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/7596242.htm) mentions “mummification”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-mom-poor-mom-youre-hanging-in-the-basement-and-im-feeling-so-sad/221663.md?page=2)