TWIN FALLS -- It's the stuff of nightmares. The discovery of a dead body in an attic.
That's what happened to a Twin Falls man Sunday morning, as he was trying to determine the source of an infestation of bugs!
The story begins to evolve around Halloween -- and two weeks later it would, indeed, turn into a horror story.
"On Halloween, I found some critters in my kitchen, they were maggots. I travel extensively for work, so haven't been around as much as I should be," said Alan Jansen. "I got back the week after Halloween and found some more critters and did some more cleaning. And then I got back on Saturday morning and the light fixtures were just full of creepy crawly things and it was disgusting and I didn't know what to do about it.I decided something must be in the attic causing the critters to fall down through the ceiling because they were collecting in the light fixtures.
So Jansen decided it was time to investigate, time to climb the exterior staircase to the attic. What he discovered was shocking.
"I opened the door and walked in and thought, 'it smells like death up here.' My reaction was just 'oh my gosh, it's a dead body,' and ran out the door," said Jansen.
Twin Falls Police and the coroner identified that man as 45-year-old Dennis Crossman, a mentally challenged neighbor who lived just a couple blocks away. Police say he was known to walk the neighborhood and, for some unknown reason, got into Jansen's attic.
"He was curled up on the ground right over there," said Jansen.
Crossman was reported missing in early October.
Police say there's no evidence that a crime took place here. They are still waiting for toxicology reports, but those won't be back for another six weeks.
Jansen has rented that home for more than three years. Despite the disturbing discovery in his attic, he will continue to live there.
