Shocking video of woman who lived with brother’s corpse returning to ‘house of horrors’

A woman who slept with her brother’s dead body for years in a rat-infested “house of horrors” has been filmed back in the garage hours after the discovery.

A woman who slept with her brother’s dead body for years in a rat-infested “house of horrors” has been filmed back on the property after being handcuffed and arrested hours earlier.

Multiple complaints were made about the mentally-unwell woman, known as Maree, a known hoarder who kept piles of rubbish in and around her commission unit.

Her brother had not been seen for years, but when the woman was arrested on an unrelated matter, his bloody skeleton was removed from the stinking home.

The woman was arrested in Newtown in December 2022. Photo: Emily Drought TikTok.

As well as a skeleton, officers found floor-to-ceiling rubbish, rats, dead possums and human faeces.

It it believed the woman could have been living with the corpse for up to five years.

Now, in a video obtained by the Daily Mail, it can be revealed the woman returned to the locked public housing unit mere hours after her arrest, where she sat grimly among the mountains of rubbish in her garage.

According to the woman who filmed the video, Maree spent the next three days in the garage and in the sweltering sun moving rubbish and cutting her grass with scissors.

Maree told the woman miserably that she had “nobody” left.

“I used to have family but now mum and dad have passed away. I haven’t got anybody now,” she said.

“And my aunties as well. And uncles.”

Asked if she had any siblings, Maree said that she had none. “No. No I haven’t,” she said.

Piles of rubbish were uncovered at the property.

A woman lived with her brother’s dead body for years in a rat-infested “house of horrors”

Maree told the woman she was hopeful at being able to enter her house again but appeared faint as she didn’t have any food, only running water from the backyard tap.

The woman filmed some of the exchange in the hope it could be helpful to authorities.

Victoria Police told the publication Maree’s welfare after being released from custody was not their concern.

“The woman was released from hospital, this would be a matter for DFFH (the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing),” an email from police said.

A spokesman for the DFFH 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 DFFH 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.”

Maree lived with her brother’s dead body for years in a rat-infested ‘house of horrors’.

Neighbours say they are still traumatised by the grisly discovery of Maree’s brother’s corpse as questions continue to be asked about how the so-called “house of horrors” wasn’t uncovered sooner.

Neighbour Nicole Stratton said a build-up of “utter filth” had masked the stench of the decaying corpse.

“There was always a smell but we just thought it was the piles of rubbish,” the 31-year-old told the Geelong Advertiser.

“The blinds were always down and you could see the mould on the back of them.

“The carport was constantly filled with trash.

“There were rats everywhere, it was honestly disgusting.”

Ms Stratton said the situation has been “traumatic” for residents.

“My eldest still won’t go outside at night, she is scared,” she said.