NJ woman may have lived with skeletal remains of husband for 7 months

WANTAGE — The decomposed remains found in the bedroom of a Sussex County home in April have been identified as those of a 67-year-old man.

Francis Brattole may have been dead for seven months in the Wantage home before police discovered his remains.

Police went to the home to check on the welfare of the residents. They found Brattole's disoriented wife, Ursula, sitting on the porch. A dead cat was inside a car parked at the house.

Authorities said the couple did not have any relationships with neighbors in this rural, sparsely populated township. Investigators made contact with a daughter living in Florida, but the couple was estranged from their family.

Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Greg Mueller said her husband was identified using dental records.

Ursula was being treated at Newton Medical Center and will be released to an in-patient facility.