A homeowner discovered the skeletal remains of three people during a first look inside their new Connecticut residence they purchased at a foreclosure auction on Sunday.
The horrified resident called 911 just before 5 p.m. on Sunday reporting the human remains inside the Burlington, Connecticut home, which they purchased “as is” on June 6, according to the Connecticut State Police.
The state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still working on identifying the three deceased and possible causes of death — while others try to track down the former homeowners.
Paul Cash and Sally Anne Cash purchased the home in September 2019 for $535,000. They took a $385,000 mortgage out on the property, but it’s unclear when, according to town records obtained by CT Insider.
The Cashes defaulted on their $3,225 mortgage payments in December 2024 and January 2025. Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing initiated a foreclosure sometime in the first half of 2025, the outlet reported.
Connecticut Marshal Grant Carragher told the outlet that he attempted to serve the Cashes with a foreclosure complaint in August 2025, but was unable to reach them.
Carragher said that he struggled to find the home, which was largely concealed by overgrown vegetation.
“I had to climb over the balcony to get to the door because the trees were overgrown. I couldn’t get into the pathway,” Carragher told the outlet.
No one answered when Carragher knocked on the front door. He said the property seemed to have been abandoned for at least a year, and neighbors attested that they hadn’t seen the residents “in years.”
A letter confirming the beginning of the foreclosure process was eventually mailed to a post office box at a UPS store in Avon, Connecticut — roughly 10 miles away from Burlington.
The Cashes never responded to the repeated correspondences, appeared in court, or sent an attorney in their stead.
A court approved the home for a foreclosure auction on March 23, a move that is now being called into question.
Christopher Thogmartin, the court-appointed attorney assigned to handle the foreclosure, said that the mystery casts doubt on “the validity of the foreclosure judgement,” according to a motion he filed on Tuesday.
Thogmartin recognized that the home was in an “obvious state of neglect,” but noted that two “Keep Out” and “Owner Occupied Premises” signs appeared to be brand new.
He also claimed that there were no attempts made to enter the home the day of the auction. It’s not immediately clear if the home’s interior was surveyed at any point before the auction.