Independence woman's body found after extended period of time

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - Independence police are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in her apartment, and who was apparently dead for some time.

Police were called Sunday afternoon to Hawthorne Place Apartments near E. Dover Lane and N. Jennings Road after a maintenance man found the woman dead in her apartment.

According to police the woman had been dead for an extended period of time. Police are unsure how long she was dead but said that she did not die on Sunday.

Neighbors said that they hadn't seen the woman in two to three weeks. They also said that the woman lived in a part of the apartment complex that didn’t have many residents.

"To me it's kind of weird no one would notice after three or four weeks no one would smell it," said neighbor Nicole Galvin.

The identity of the woman has not been released, but police said that she was a senior.