Woonsocket police search ex-mayor’s home after ‘severely decomposed’ bodies found

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Two bodies were found “severely decomposed” inside of a home that belonged to a former Woonsocket mayor Monday night, according to authorities.

The bodies of a man and woman were discovered in a Marian Lane home, where police said Mayor Susan Menard lived.

Police didn’t immediately release the identities of the bodies.

This is a photo of the home where two badly decomposed bodies were found in Woonsocket, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (WLNE)

Tuesday, Chief Thomas Oates told ABC 6 News that they were waiting to hear back from the Medical Examiner’s Office on the positive identification and cause of death.

Oates added that deaths don’t appear to be suspicious or “criminal in nature” at this time.

According to an obituary in the Providence Journal, Menard’s brother, Robert Miller, died over the weekend. He was 81.

This is a photo of the home where two badly decomposed bodies were found in Woonsocket, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (WLNE)

Miller, according to the obituary, was a toxicologist for the Rhode Island Department of Health for 30 years.

Menard served as Woonsocket’s mayor for 14 years, making her longest mayor in the city.