When Jennifer Maedge went searching for Christmas decorations in December, she expected tinsel — not tragedy. Inside a hidden storage area of her Troy, Illinois home, she found the mummified body of her husband, Richard, who had been missing for eight months.
Richard Maedge, 53, disappeared on April 26, 2022, after calling his wife to say he was leaving work early. When Jennifer returned home, his car was in the driveway, but he was gone. Police searched the house and noticed a “sewer-like” odor but found nothing. The smell lingered for weeks, even after a plumber capped a pipe thought to be the source.
Richard’s sister, Marilyn Toliver, led an online search effort, posting daily pleas for information. “The holidays will have a lot less magic,” she wrote in late November.
On December 11, Jennifer discovered Richard’s body behind a stack of clothes under the stairs. Authorities said he had taken his own life and that the body’s mummified state explained why the odor was hard to trace.
“He had struggled with mental health before,” Jennifer said. “I never imagined he would actually go through with this.”
Toliver later posted a final tribute: “It was the saddest, hardest 229 days of our lives. We’ll never forget him.”