Emails have surfaced from fed-up neighbours urging authorities to take action on a rubbish-strewn home a year prior to the resident’s brother being found dead inside.
Robert Natoli, who would have turned 76 this year, was found dead in the public housing unit he shared with his sister Maree, 74, on Russell Street at Newtown, in Geelong, Victoria, on December 29, 2022.
Neighbours of the Natolis had complained to the housing department and state MP about the horrible state of the home, which was covered in rubbish both inside and out.
The couple, who live nearby, eventually prompted authorities to perform a welfare check on Mr Natoli, with one claiming the state government had ‘blood on their hands’ after the discovery of his corpse inside the property.
A coroner’s report is yet to determine when he died; however, the couple who bought a neighbouring home two years ago claim to have ‘never laid eyes on that man’.
Emails have emerged from furious neighbours who finally convinced authorities to carry out a welfare check on a filthy home in Geelong where a woman was found living alongside her brother’s corpse (pictured, Maree Natoli living amongst the home’s filth)
READ MORE: Unimaginable grief ‘house of horrors’ owner suffered decades before she was found living with the corpse of her dead brother
The emails, seen by the Geelong Advertiser, were sent to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) and later to the state member for Geelong, Christine Couzens.
One neighbour emailed the DFFH, who own the property, to express his concern for the Natolis after spotting a ‘large amount of black mould on the front windows’.
He went on to raise further concerns with the department regarding poor air quality, horrid sanitary conditions and rat infestations.
The neighbour recalled the ‘shock and anger’ he felt after Mr Natoli’s body was removed from the property despite emailing the department more than a year prior.
The day following the discovery, he emailed Ms Couzens to ‘seek answers and an explanation’ as to how his complaints went ignored.
‘It is clear that the system has failed the deceased… and the occupant of the property,’ the email to Ms Couzens read, according to the masthead.
‘No one should be subjected to these conditions, especially our most vulnerable members of the community.’
Ms Couzens reportedly didn’t respond to the email.
Daily Mail has contacted Ms Couzens for comment.
A spokesperson for the department described the incident as tragic and expressed its ‘deepest sympathies to the man’s family and friends’.
‘All complaints received were taken seriously and staff attempted to have them addressed while complying with renters’ rights under the Residential Tenancies Act,’ the department stated.
‘The Department had made numerous attempts to inspect the property and get in touch with the tenant and had an application at VCAT to secure access to the home.
‘The man’s sister was provided with alternative housing and support services immediately.’
Some neighbours said they had ‘never laid eyes on’ on Ms Natoli’s brother, Robert, in over two years and urged authorities to perform a welfare check at the public housing flat
Although the property was in a disgusting state and no one had heard from Robert since 2017, the matter went unresolved until police attended to the property on a separate matter
The lack of contact was escalated to police and state trustees, who paid for the siblings’ rent, for them to investigate welfare concerns and property conditions.
Mr Natoli’s rent for the home was allegedly still being paid for by the state while he was deceased.
Despite the numerous emails from concerned neighbours, police eventually attended to the home on an unrelated matter.
Cops broke a glass door panel to gain entry before officers in biohazard suits were forced to wade through floor-to-ceiling rubbish, rats, dead possums and human faeces to reach the skeletal remains of Robert, who had not been seen since 2017.
Ms Natoli was arrested and led away from the home by police after her brother’s body was found before being released without charge.
Although she lived alongside the corpse for up to five years, she claimed she knew nothing about it.