A St. Petersburg woman is accused of stealing from her dead neighbor while his body was still in the home.
Police arrested Jana Guzalak, 26, on Thursday.
Detectives found the badly decomposed body of 79-year-old John Robert Hapke, Jr, on the 400 block of 30th Avenue, in a detached garage apartment.
According to police, the preliminary investigation does not suggest foul play, however, the body was so decomposed that the medical examiner must determine the cause of death.
Police aren't saying how long he'd been there but neighbors said they had been smelling a strange odor for weeks.
"It was just a really strong, rotten smell," said Elizabeth Blankenship.
Blankenship said she thought it was a dead animal and reported it to the landlord. She said when work crews came out to the apartment, they realized what it was and called police.
Police said Guzalak entered the rear garage apartment, at least three times in the last few weeks, and stole tools, electronics, credit cards, collectible coins, and cash.
"I'm really sad for his family. I hope he has family because I saw him once in awhile out in the yard and he was just a fragile man. It's sad somebody took advantage of him like that," said Blankenship.
Guzalak lives two doors down, police said.
Officers said she admitted pawning the items and using the credit card at nearby grocery stores.
She has no arrest history.