SEBASTIAN — Police said they have found the mummified remains of a woman who had been missing for as much as six years in a home where neighbors complained of a foul smell.

Penelope Jordan, 61, of the 500 block of Wimbrow Drive, was charged Monday with fraud and theft by the Sebastian Police Department. Investigators are still looking into the circumstances of the death of Jordan’s mother, Timmie Jordan, who was born in 1913. Police said Penelope Jordan had been cashing her Social Security checks for the past six years.

Code enforcement had been called to the home Friday for complaints of bad odor, poor living conditions and numerous cats, said police spokesman Steve Marcinik.

Code enforcement had eight cats removed from the home, Marcinik said. When code enforcement returned Monday morning to look over other aspects of the complaints, they found remains inside the home, Marcinik said.

Detectives interviewed Penelope Jordan Monday at police headquarters while officers took out a search warrant to look through her home, Marcinik said. During the investigation, detectives determined that Timmie Jordan’s whereabouts were unknown.

Investigators who searched the home said it was filled with clutter, Marcinik said. Timmie Jordan’s body was found on a mattress in a bedroom, which had a large pile of clutter blocking the door, Marcinik said.

Penelope Jordan’s neighbors described her as someone who was friendly at times, but usually kept to herself. Some neighbors said the woman’s cats were a nuisance in the neighborhood for several years.

Others said the stench from Jordan’s home could be smelled from a nearby school bus stop.

“She was always pleasant,” said next door neighbor Kathleen Benjamin, who said she was never bothered by the cats or the smell from the home.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office will study the skeletal remains of Timmie Jordan, Marcinik said.

Penelope Jordan was being held at the Indian River County Jail with no bond Monday night. �

By Lamaur Stancil

Tags: body, bond, cash, codes, death, driving, fraud, jail, medical, mother, police, Schools, search, security, theft, warrant, woman

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Crime, Economy, Indian River County, Sebastian, Weird News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.