San Francisco police said a woman who was living in an Inner Richmond house with the body of a deceased female for an unknown amount of time is now in a supportive care living environment and that her dog is being looked after by San Francisco Animal Care and Control.
San Francisco firefighters equipped with oxygen masks recovered the female body from the debris-filled home at 152 Fourth Ave. between Lake and California streets on April 4, four days after an investigation into the property began.
According to the San Francisco Police Department’s Richmond District Station, officers went to the single-family Victorian-style home on a report of a dead body inside.
Police said they met with the occupant of the home, who told them that her elderly bedridden mother had died five years ago and that her remains were still inside the house.
The body, suspected by neighbors to be that of elderly resident Anna Ragin, has not been officially identified by the San Francisco medical examiner’s office.
Acting medical examiner administrator Christopher Wirowek said that the female had been dead for an unknown amount of time and that it appears to have been “many months,” possibly even years since the her death.
Wirowek said he is working with the state Department of Justice to match the DNA.
The woman police met living inside the home with the body, identified by neighbors as Ragin’s daughter, was transported to a hospital for treatment and then moved to a supportive care living environment, police said.
According to police, when firefighters entered the home there was so much debris packed into the house that specialized crews with protective equipment spent several days trying to find and then remove the body.
Wirowek said the family is cooperating with the death investigation.
Police said the occupant of the home had a dog that was taken to Animal Care and Control for safekeeping.
Neighbors said the occupant of the home walked her dog from time to time, but that they hadn’t seen the woman’s mother in years.
The Department of Public Health and the City Attorney’s Office are continuing to address health concerns, code violations and legal issues involving the property.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News
