A 12 year-old boy made a gruesome discovery in the town of Dayton, Ohio when he opened a closet in an abandoned house he had been exploring.

Inside were the mummified remains of man who had apparently hung himself five years ago. Police believe that the man is likely to be Edward Brunton, 53, who bought the house in 2009.

The coroner claims that he died shortly after the purchase, and most neighbours had never seen him. The property was left to decay and the garden to grow wild, which was what attracted the young adventurer.

Michelle McGrath, the boy’s mother, spoke to KFOR about his experience:

“My son came home and said, he said to me that he had gone into an abandoned house and he found a body. And I said, ‘Wait, what?

“When he first came across it, he thought it was a dummy, or a mannequin or something.”