Community Corner

Corpse House In Nearby Middlefield To Be Sold At Auction This Weekend

It's been nearly five years since Ann Simmeck's mummified body was discovered inside 15 Lake Shore Drive and this weekend the home will be sold at auction.

 

For more than three decades, Mary Carlson has been tormented.

The torment culminated on June 6, 2007, when Ann Simmeck's corpse was found inside 15 Lake Shore Drive, and the days that followed as investigators unraveled the bizzare circumstances leading to the gruesome discovery.

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"I think she died unfairly and I don't think she had a chance," Carlson says from the kitchen of her home, located next door to the house where Simmeck's mummified body lay undisturbed for seven years. "I think it was very sad that they left her there."

It's been nearly five years since Middlefield Police Officer Scott Halligan walked into the two-story ranch home on Lake Beseck and found Simmeck's remains on the floor in front of a sofa.

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Investigators would soon discover that John J. Simmeck Jr. and his younger sister, Diane had been making regular trips to Middlefield to visit their mother, but never bothered to tell anyone that she was dead. An autopsy revealed that Simmeck died from heart disease sometime in late 1999 or early 2000, when she was 72 years old.

Although neither sibling ever faced criminal charges in their mother's death, both have lengthy criminal records and Carlson says the family's odd behavior dates back to the 1960s.

"You just kinda minded your own business and stayed away," she says, describing the family as "different." 

Saturday will mark what Carlson hopes is the end of an agonizing era for both her family and her neighbors, when the abandoned home is sold at auction.

"There's relief because we're like 'Thank God'. Now we don't have to worry about being spied on, or creeped out, or fear for our safety because it got to that point," she says.

Although her former neighbor's whereabouts these days is unknown, Carlson says John, who she refers to as "J.J.", recently returned to the home.

"I saw him a few weeks ago," she says. She believes he came to Middlefield to recover some belongings.

Carlson says the words "MAY GOD'S WILL BE DONE" were recently inscribed on a picture window at the home and that police are aware of J.J.'s recent visits.

While she has taken some solace in the fact that her neighbor's home has remained empty since the discovery, Carlson says the neglect has led to other problems.

"When they went in there to get the mother they said that there were thousands and thousands of mice and rodents. Over the years, because of what has happened explains a lot as to why there were so many snakes, and everything that's over there comes over here. It just freaks me out." 

Home Up for Auction

This week's auction follows legal action taken by John Simmeck, who sued his estranged son over the $45,000 he was owed in the divorce settlement with his ex-wife.

According to online records, the property's assessed value is $108,100. 

In addition to the auction price, Middlefield Anne Olszewski says the buyer will also be responsible for paying an additional $15,000 in overdue property taxes and nearly $5,000 more in sewer related fees.

The auction will held at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Carlson says she's ready to move on and hopes her new neighbor will take care of their new home.

"This whole process has definitely made it very uneasy to live here. We didn't have the means to move or to sell. It definitely has traumatized me."


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