Hoarding disorder is a serious mental health condition where individuals struggle to discard possessions, regardless of their actual value. This often leads to homes becoming overwhelmed with items, creating unsafe and unsanitary living spaces. Many have seen glimpses of this on shows like Hoarders, where homes are filled with trash, debris, and worse.
Behind the clutter, however, are often kind people trapped by their belongings. This post shares 10 deeply saddening stories of individuals whose hoarding disorder ultimately led to tragic ends, highlighting the severe impact of this condition.
10 Sally Honeycheck
Sally Honeycheck and her sister Lorraine lived in their parents’ home, bought in 1951. To outsiders, they appeared normal; the house looked maintained, and the sisters were always well-dressed. But inside, the reality was grim. For decades, they collected items like clothing, jewelry, and memorabilia. Their hoarding led to no heat, fungus on the walls, and a sagging floor.
In 2018, over Thanksgiving weekend, Sally’s cousin, Linda Kajma, couldn’t reach her. Visiting the home, Linda found a horrifying scene. A decomposed body, barely recognizable, was slumped in a lawn chair. Initially thinking it was a gruesome prank, Linda soon realized it was Sally. Tragically, Sally’s Rottweiler, Jack, had also died in the house after feeding on her remains.
9 Scunthorpe Man
In January 2022, police in Scunthorpe, England, checked on an elderly man not seen since before Christmas. Neighbors knew him as a hoarder. His yard was so full of trash that the fence collapsed, spilling items into the next yard. His home lacked windows, doors, electricity, and an indoor toilet. A water leak had persisted for 15 years, affecting nearby properties.
A relative of a neighbor mentioned, “He often barricaded himself in his home so no one could help him.” Tragically, officers found him deceased inside, surrounded by his hoard.
8 Evelyn Sakash
Evelyn Sakash was a talented, award-winning set and production designer for popular shows like Sesame Street and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Known for her brilliance and generosity, Evelyn was also a “heavy hoarder.” Her yard was cluttered with furniture and garbage, while inside, stacks of items like boxes and clothing reached heights of five feet.
After she went missing in October 2020, Evelyn’s sister hired a cleaning crew. Sadly, they discovered Evelyn’s mummified body in her kitchen, buried under a pile of debris.
7 Skip Bynum
Friends of Skip Bynum, a 67-year-old Dallas man, contacted police when he’d been missing for nearly two weeks. Skip lived alone after his mother’s passing. When police arrived at his home, the hoard was so immense they had to cut a hole in the roof to get inside through the attic.
Search teams and cadaver dogs were brought in. Initially, they only found a dead raccoon. After two days of clearing enormous amounts of trash, debris, and containers of waste, Skip’s body was discovered. In a small positive note, firefighters rescued Skip’s dog, Buddy, who was found alive and given to a friend.
6 Rita Corpin
Rita Corpin, a retired history teacher with 40 years of service, was described as “eccentric and terribly lonely.” Her collecting intensified into full-blown hoarding after her boyfriend died. Rita had a history with Santa Ana city officials due to complaints about her cluttered home and two other properties she owned in similar states.
Despite notices and fines, Rita’s hoarding continued. She did just enough to keep authorities away but never allowed full access. In June 2014, a gardener found Rita’s body on her front porch, surrounded by trash and cats. It took officers over three hours to clear enough debris to remove her.
5 Bruce Roberts
Bruce Roberts inherited his parents’ home and $1 million at a young age. For 40 to 50 years, he lived reclusively, known by neighbors for the brown coat he wore while pacing the street. His house, dubbed the “creepy house on the corner,” was surrounded by barbed wire, with nailed-shut windows and a yard full of cans.
In 2017, neighbors became concerned when he stopped his routines and called the police. Officers found debris piled floor-to-ceiling and Roberts’ decomposing body, partially charred, near a heater. A year later, cleaners clearing the hoard made another shocking discovery: a second corpse, surrounded by air fresheners. This body was identified as Shane Snellman, missing since 2002. It’s believed Snellman had tried to break in and was shot by Roberts, who then kept the body hidden for about 15 years.
4 James Pettit
James Pettit, a former National Grid worker, lived in his Birmingham home for four decades. Outwardly, he seemed put-together, often seen well-dressed. However, his home life was starkly different. In January 2020, police conducted a welfare check. When they forced open the door, a flood of junk poured out.
Pettit’s body was found upstairs, buried under a mountain of clutter. It took a team five hours to clear enough of the hoard to safely reach and remove him.
3 Dean Verboven
Dean Verboven, 42, lived with his 69-year-old mother, Barbara, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Barbara had left her job with the Board of Education due to illness, and Dean was her caregiver. Their hoarded home was an eyesore, leading to neighbor complaints, though they described the Verbovens as “sweet, nice people.”
In October 2012, a dumpster was placed on their property as state social workers prepared to help clear the hoard. Unwilling to lose his home or possessions, Dean intentionally set a fire, taking his own life. Fire crews managed to rescue Barbara from the blaze, and she was taken to a hospital.
2 Katherine Smith
Police in Peoria, Arizona, were sent to check on 66-year-old Katherine Smith after reports of foul odors and rodents coming from her home. The hoarding was so severe that officers couldn’t enter and had to use drones to search. Once her body was located, a special unit in hazmat suits had to navigate massive amounts of trash to remove Smith’s decomposed, mummified body.
Following this, neighbors reported a rat infestation, with one claiming to have seen as many as “50 rats in her yard.” Clean-up crews removed enough debris to fill nine dumpsters. They also discovered two pythons in enclosures. It turned out Smith had been breeding rats to feed her snakes. After her death, the rat population exploded, spreading throughout the neighborhood.
1 John Arthur Noble
John Arthur Noble lived in West Yorkshire. His home’s doors and windows were barricaded to hide the hoard inside. He only interacted minimally with delivery people and refused entry to everyone else. His brother Roy, neighbors, and social services tried to help, but Noble shut them all out, including his children. He was known as a “recluse and a hoarder living in squalor.”
Noble’s life hadn’t always been this way. A divorce about 30 years prior led to drinking, hoarding, and eventually, the loss of family relationships. He was found mummified in his home in April 2021. Neighbors said they hadn’t seen him for at least a year. He was found near a sofa with hundreds of empty cigarette packs and bottles of urine. Rooms were filled with old food (dating back to 2019 and 2020), beer, videotapes, and outdated mail.
These stories are profoundly tragic, reminding us that hoarding disorder is a complex condition with potentially devastating consequences. It underscores the importance of understanding, compassion, and access to mental health support for those affected.
What are your thoughts on these stories? Do you know someone who struggles with hoarding? Share your reflections in the comments below.
