Skip navigation

Corpse mistaken for Halloween decoration

Woman’s body hangs from tree after apparent suicide

Video: Life  
Giant Panda's 4th birthday
  July 9: Tai Shan, the National Zoo's giant panda who was born on-line, enjoyed beet juice and bamboo cake on his 4th birthday. He's now a teenager in bear years.

Text alerts on msnbc.com

Breaking news alerts (about 1 per day)
Click here to sign up or text NEWS to MSNBC (67622).

Find more alerts at alerts.msnbc.com

  Photo features  
  More
Image: British forces in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
The New York Times via Redux Pic
  The Week in Pictures
Vibrant fields of sunflowers, a high-rescue drama and Michael Jackson memories are among this week’s attention-grabbing images.
AP
PhotoBlog
View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.
updated 3:39 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2005

FREDERICA, Del. - The apparent suicide of a woman found hanging from a tree went unreported for hours because passers-by thought the body was a Halloween decoration, authorities said.

The 42-year-old woman used rope to hang herself across the street from some homes on a moderately busy road late Tuesday or early Wednesday, state police said.

The body, suspended about 15 feet above the ground, could be easily seen from passing vehicles.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

State police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Oldham and neighbors said people noticed the body at breakfast time Wednesday but dismissed it as a holiday prank. Authorities were called to the scene more than three hours later.

“They thought it was a Halloween decoration,” Fay Glanden, wife of Mayor William Glanden, told The (Wilmington) News Journal.

“It looked like something somebody would have rigged up,” she said.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored LinksGet listed here
Online College Courses
Boost your career with an online Degree. Pick from Leading Colleges!
www.EarnMyDegree.com

Sponsored links

Resource guide