Missing woman found dead in basement under pile of clothes near maggot-covered bed

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (TCD) — A 30-year-old woman who had not been seen in a year was found dead in a basement last month while narcotics detectives were searching for someone else.

On Jan. 30 at around 11 a.m., East Chicago Police Department Gang and Narcotics Division detectives and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division went to the 4000 block of Deal Street to look for a wanted individual. Detectives located the man at a residence on the street and took him into custody. When they were inside, however, police “smelled a strong and foul odor coming from the basement.”

According to East Chicago Police, officers went to the basement and found a bed “covered with clothes and maggots.”

The department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force arrived at the scene and obtained a warrant to search the rest of the home. While in the process of searching the basement, they discovered a deceased female under a pile of clothes. Police took two persons of interest into custody.

WGN-TV reports the victim has been identified as Clarissa Almodovar. Her cause of death has not been released.

According to the Indiana Missing Person Bulletin, Almodovar was last seen Jan. 29, 2023.

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