A 4-year-old survived for several days with the corpse of his mother, trying to save her by rubbing lotion on her. (Photo via MyFoxNY)

A 4-year-old boy was found emaciated Tuesday morning after going five days without food while being trapped in a New Jersey apartment with his dead mother.

The boy told police he tried to get food from the refrigerator but couldn't open the door, Union Police Director Daniel Zieser said. The boy also had rubbed lotion on his mother in an apparent attempt to help her, leaving behind his handprints, Zieser said.

"He made a statement to the officer that 'There's plenty of food in the refrigerator, but I couldn't open the door,'" Zieser told New York radio station WCBS. "So that's kind of sad that nobody checked on him, no family members. It's sad, very sad."

The discovery was made Tuesday after a maintenance worker reported a bad odor coming from the apartment. The door was ajar but locked with a chain.

Once police forced their way in, they found the woman's body in a bedroom. The county medical examiner was conducting an autopsy to determine the time and cause of death.

Watch this WPIX report about the situation:

The woman wasn't being identified until relatives could be notified. Police don't suspect foul play.

MyFoxNY reported a neighbor saying he hadn't seen the boy's mother since January. The neighbor also said he hadn't heard any commotion from inside the apartment.

The boy was taken to a hospital for treatment, where he is said to be in stable condition.

(H/T: Fox News)

The Associated Press contributed to this report.