The winning bidder for a foreclosed house in Connecticut discovered the skeletal remains of three people after entering the residence days later, according to the authorities.
The “new homeowner reported finding suspicious remains” in the house in Burlington, Conn., on June 14, the State Police said in a statement this week.
The identities of the people and their causes of death have not yet been determined but the State Police said that there was no indication of criminal activity and that the deaths appeared to be isolated.
The Cape Cod-style home, which was built in 2002, was purchased on June 6 at auction for $525,000 by Edward Marchion, according to court records. He could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
The previous owners, Paul and Sally Anne Cash, had taken out a loan of nearly $400,000, which is now held by Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing, before the property was foreclosed.
Mr. Marchion put down an $82,000 deposit for the property, which had a listed fair market value of $820,000, the court records show.
“While the premises was in an obvious state of neglect, there were two newly erected signs reading ‘Keep Out’ and ‘Owner Occupied Premises,’” according to court records.
The records said that “no attempt was made to enter the interior” before the sale.
A motion filed on Tuesday by a lawyer for Shellpoint questioned the validity of the sale in light of the discovery of the remains and sought a return of the deposit if the sale were canceled.
So far, there are no changes to the validity of the sale, said Christopher Thogmartin, the plaintiff’s attorney.
“The court has instructed me to proceed as normal” until advised otherwise, Mr. Thogmartin said in an email.
The Cashes had secured a loan in 2019 for the property in Burlington, which is about 20 miles west of Hartford. Attempts to reach the Cashes and their relatives were unsuccessful.
Properties in a foreclosure sale in Connecticut are exempt from condition disclosures. Those reports require sellers to reveal certain details, including if a residence has any damage or hazards.
A state marshal had left a summons at the house in August 2025. In October, a motion was made for a default judgment because the owners failed to appear in court. In November, a foreclosure was requested, which the court approved in March.
After the remains were discovered, the Burlington Volunteer Fire Department tested the residence for carbon monoxide but there was no evidence of the poisonous gas, the department said in a statement.
Since 2021, the department had received multiple calls to the residence, according to call logs. Three medical calls were made between November and December 2021, and last month the department responded to an alarm.
In that instance, the residence appeared vacant, Michael J. Boucher, a spokesman for the department, said in a statement on Thursday.
“Efforts were made by law enforcement to contact the property management company,” the statement said. “Entry was not made into the residence, and fire department units cleared the scene without incident.”
While not a frequent occurrence, human remains have been found before inside of foreclosed or abandoned homes.
In 2020, the buyer in a foreclosure auction in Maryland found the body of a 39-year-old woman who had been a resident inside. And in 2015, a man who purchased a foreclosed home in Florida discovered the mummified remains of the former owner.
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