Man lay dead in Oslo flat for nine years

The man was found in an apartment block in the Norwegian capital. Police found a carton of milk with an expiry date in 2011
The man was found in an apartment block in the Norwegian capital. Police found a carton of milk with an expiry date in 2011
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

The discovery of the body of a man in a flat in Oslo nine years after he died has confounded Norwegian police.

The man, who was in his sixties and whose name has not been revealed, was found in an apartment block in the Norwegian capital in December, when a caretaker needed to access the flat to carry out maintenance. The police found a carton of milk with an expiry date of May 6, 2011, and a letter dated April 29 that year, thought to be the day of the man’s death.

The man died from natural causes, a post-mortem examination revealed, but the incident has shaken the surrounding community and prompted a debate in Oslo about loneliness.

A neighbour said that the man kept