Middlefield 'Corpse House' Sells for $90K at Foreclosure Auction

A Middlefield locksmith on Saturday agreed to pay $90,000 for a home once owned by a woman whose mummified remains were discovered inside the home seven years after she had died.

Jim Flaws was the lone bidder during the court ordered auction held in the driveway of 15 Lake Shore Drive.

"I handed out a fax sheet, so you should know what the applicable liens are," attorney John R. Donovan, who served as auctioneer, announced to the small crowd before joking, "May God's will be done."

Donovan's comment was a reference to the  on a picture window of the home believed to have been recently written by the property's former owner, John J. Simmeck Jr.

Simmeck lost the home to foreclosure a year ago, four years after his mother's corpse was discovered inside the home.

According to a 100 page police report, Simmeck and his sister, Diane, visited the home many times after Ann Simmeck died of natural causes sometime in late 1999 or early 2000, but neither ever reported her death.

A half dozen interested buyers showed up for the noon auction, despite the blustery conditions.

"The bid is $90,000 dollars going once, going twice, going three times. $90,000 takes the property," Donavan exclaimed, prompting the crowd gathered next to the home's garage to congratulate Flaws.

"I'll wait to get in, see what it looks like," the Lake Beseck resident said when asked about his plans for the property. 

In addition to the $90,000, Flaws will also have to pay about $25,000 in outstanding taxes and sewer fees, according to Middlefield Tax Collector Anne Olszewski.

Chris Grotz, a lawyer representing John H. Simmeck Sr., said his client would receive $45,000 from the sale. 

"He's looking to close his affairs," Grotz said about the 85-year-old who now lives in Meriden but was not present at the auction.

In January 2011, a judged ruled in Simmeck's favor in a lawsuit against Iron Eagle International. He filed the lawsuit to recover the portion of his buyout following his 1996 divorce from Ann Simmeck.

The company was created by his son and used to transfer ownership of the home following the divorce.