HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Deputies in Texas on Saturday found two men dead, including one that appeared to have been deceased for several months, while conducting a welfare check in Harris County, authorities said.
According to Harris County Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland, the sheriff’s office received a call for a welfare check in the northwestern area of the county, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Upon entering the home, deputies said they noticed flies and a foul odor concentrated on one side of the residence, according to the newspaper.
Media briefing on the homicide scene at 16800 Kilwinning dr. One male 64,was found deceased inside the home, he appears to have been dead for several months. A male 63, shot himself as deputies entered the home. An autopsy will determine cause of death on the 64 year old #HouNews pic.twitter.com/QN6M3UQyP1
— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) March 12, 2023
After entering the home, the deputies heard a shot and found the body of a 64-year-old man with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Gilliland told reporters.
“In another adjoining bedroom, they did find the body of a male also that had been severely decomposed,” Gilliland said, adding that the man had been dead for “at least several months.”
Deputies believe that the decomposed body was a 63-year-old man, the sheriff’s office said.
“The manner and cause of the death of the first male is unknown,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted.
Alton Bell, the neighbor next door to the home, said he called deputies for the initial welfare check, KTRK-TV reported.
“Yesterday, I was mowing the grass and going beside the house. I was going into the backyard, and I noticed a bunch of flies that were above the normal size,” Bell told the television station. “We’re pretty shocked. It’s really horrifying. I mean, this guy was 20 feet from my house lying in a room.”
Gilliland said the two men lived in the house, but their relationship was unclear, the Chronicle reported. Their identities were not released.
Linda Meadows, who lives across the street from the home, told KTRK that her daughter heard the gunshot, prompting their family to come outside to investigate.
“If you ever smelled a rat in your wall, it’s awful,” Meadows told the television station. “As soon as they opened the door, you could smell it as soon as the wind blew it across the street. We knew something was really wrong.”
