Dead woman’s body found sitting in a car after six years after direct debits ran $54,000 bank account dry

A woman's body that was degrading in the

back of a car for over half a decade has been

found lying in a garage in the US

neighbourhood of Pontiac, Michigan.

As her bills were paid by direct debit, her

mail sent to the post office, and her grass

regularly cut by a neighbour for six years,

the woman's remains were only discovered

in the Jeep Liberty after her bank account

ran out of funds and someone was sent to

check why mortgage payments had stopped.

The woman has not yet been formally

identified but is believed to be 49-year-old

Pia Davida Farrenkopf, the last owner of the

house.

She was found clothed in a heavy jacket and

jeans, which led investigators to suspect that

she died in the winter, according to the

Detroit Free Press.

The key was in the ignition, but switched to

the off mode, according to Undersheriff Mike

McCabe.

The death is being treated as a homicide at

this time, and police say suicide by carbon

monoxide is the likely cause.

Medical examiners hopes to find dental

records to formally identify the corpse.

It is thought that the woman stopped

working as a contractor in the financial

department of the Chrysler car firm in 2008,

when set up direct debit payments from her

bank which at one time contained $54,000.

"It is kind of the perfect storm for a

mysterious set of circumstance and a

challenge because of the extreme

degradation of the body," said Oakland

County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

"The last withdrawal from her account was

in March 2013," he added.

Edward Caroll, who married Farrenkopf's

late mother three years ago, told local

broadcaster WXYZ that Ms Farrenkopf was

estranged from her family and did not

answer her invitation to the wedding.

"I tried to find her through the Internet and

everything and I never could find her. And I

wrote a letter a couple times and I think

some of them came back. Her mother hadn't

heard from her for years and years," he said.

Neighbours said the woman had family in

Germany and would be gone for days or

weeks at a time. When she was back home,

she kept to herself, WXYZ reported.

"Nobody came over there to check on the

lady. It's weird. And it's actually scary," a

neighbour who wished to remain anonymous

told the local TV station.