A WOMAN’S decomposing body was found inside a Pennsylvania home soon after a new homeowner scoped out the property following a sheriff’s sale.

The grim discovery happened on Tuesday afternoon, the same day the person bought the home in an auction.

A house with a police car in the driveway and a boat on a trailer.
A woman’s decomposing body was found inside a home that had just been sold in a sheriff’s auctionCredit: WGAL
 

A police officer stands next to a police car with text overlay "WOMAN FOUND DEAD AT A HOME" and "SOUTH LONDONDERRY TOWNSHIP, LEBANON COUNTY".
The new homeowner called for a well-being check after discovering a foul odorCredit: WGAL

Emergency responders in hazmat suits.
A hazmat team was called in to help remove the bodyCredit: WGAL

A home in South Londonderry Township, Lebanon County was put up for sale by the local sheriff after the previous homeowner, Sharlene Bence, also known as Sharlene Mikula, defaulted on the mortgage in April 2023, according to WGAL.

“The new owners came here, and they said that they noticed that there was a problem at the house due to a foul odor,” a neighbor told WGAL.

The Lebanon County Coroner’s Office said they responded to the home after a well-being check was requested.

“A female resident of the home, name is withheld pending notification of family, was pronounced dead on scene,” the coroner’s office said.

Officials said the cause and manner of her death was still under investigation.

An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday.

A hazmat team was dispatched to the scene to remove the body.

The team refused to comment on the case, but told WGAL that they are called in to help the coroner remove a body when it is in a state of decomposition.

“We just moved in here in November, and we know nothing other than just seeing individuals walking through the house, shadows actually,” the neighbor told WGAL.

“But I’ve never seen them personally.”

Other neighbors told the outlet that a husband and wife had lived in the home.

A sheriff’s sale is a public real estate auction following a court-ordered foreclosure, where the county sheriff sells a home, as is, to try and pay off the debt.

These sales occur when an owner did not pay taxes, a mortgage or another court judgement.

Prospective buyers typically cannot view the inside of the home before buying it.