AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)- A disturbing scene unfolded in a quaint neighborhood near the old Solo Cup plant in Augusta Friday morning.
Crews arrived at 1539 Wilder St. to inspect the abandoned house for demolition. Inside, they found a decomposing body. Authorities are unsure of how long it had been there, but they haven’t been able to identify the gender or ethnicity.
“I was very shocked to hear this,” said neighbor Bridgit Scott. “I hate to hear this ’cause that’s kind of close to home.”
The house in question has been abandoned for three or four years and has fallen into disrepair.
“At least 80 percent of the roof is actually caved in,” said Relpheal Carter, who lives five doors down.
“It’s got to where we really don’t even pay attention to the house because, you know, nobody’s ever there,” Scott said.
That changed Friday morning. The Richmond County Coroner and Crime Scene Unit arrived on the scene to investigate what they are calling a suspicious death.
“Before I knew it, it turned from one police car to two, until like 12 cars sitting out here,” Carter said.
Brigit Scott has lived in the neighborhood more than 40 years. She says most residents have lived in the area all their lives.
“This is the first time we’ve ever had something like this in our little neighborhood,” she said. “It’s very quiet”
Neighbors says its the kind of neighborhood where everyone knows everyone.
“I mean we have people that pass through because we have an alley that we have in the back going behind this row of houses over here. But other than that, there’s not really anybody hanging out that’s strange,” Carter said. “Anybody that hangs out around here we know.”
The closeness of the community only makes the incident more bizarre.
“For that to happen like that…it’s shocking,” Carter said.