Man’s decomposing body found in Petah Tikva, alongside disabled wife

The decomposing body of a 56-year-old man with disabilities has been found in his home in the central Israel city of Petah Tikva, with his disabled and partially blind and deaf wife found near him, exhausted and dehydrated in her bed, not knowing her husband’s fate.

Neighbors called in authorities after noticing a bad smell from the apartment. The woman has said her husband had been nursing her and she didn’t understand why she stopped receiving food and drinks for the last few days.

“Nothing can prepare even the most experienced [first-aid] volunteer for such a sight,” says Chaim Otmazgin of the ZAKA emergency response group. “The whole house is in a dirty and inhuman state. To think his wife stayed next to him for days without anyone taking interest or checking in on them.”

The woman, in her 50s, has been taken to the city’s Beilinson hospital for treatment.