New homeowner shocked to discover decaying corpse in basement of his house. It was the previous owner.

A man said he found a decaying corpse in the basement of a home he bought, and police determined that it was the remains of the previous homeowner.

The new owner purchased the home on the 2700 block of Noble Road as part of a foreclosure sale in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.

After finding the shocking scene in the basement, the new homeowner called the police. Police officers and firefighters responded to the call at about 11:40 a.m. on Tuesday.

Investigators later identified the body as belonging to 71-year-old Nina Fielden, who was the owner of the home before it was sold.

"The person who found Ms. Fielden’s body told detectives that he had recently purchased the home through Cuyahoga County as part of a sheriff’s sale," said Mike Thomas, director of communications and public engagement for Cleveland Heights.

"He told detectives he had visited the site to check on the property," he added.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body but did not say what the cause of death was.

A man named Alton Greer works across the street from the home, and he told WOIO-TV he was shocked to find out about the deceased body.

"It's crazy. I mean, who woulda thought?" said Greer. "Kinda scared! Especially for the people who live in the building! You know? Not knowing there's a body down there?"

Video of the home from WOIO showed an overgrown and unkempt front yard. A listing on a real estate site estimated that the house was worth about $150,900 and last sold in 2015.

Authorities said the matter is still under investigation.

Here's a local news report about the startling incident:

Decomposing body found in basement of Cleveland Heights homewww.youtube.com