'Mummified' body found in a house in Australia

AAP

North Shore Police Area Command and the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad work at an address in Greenwich where a body has been found.

A decomposed body found in a hoarder's house in the Sydney suburb of Greenwich last week was inside the property for more than 10 years, police believe.

Last Tuesday (local time, forensic cleaners made the grisly discovery of a "mummified" corpse in the house in Greendale Street on the lower north shore, which they were clearing out after the death of home owner Bruce Roberts last July.

While forensic investigations continue, senior police sources, who have characterised the case as "a mystery",  say indications are that he died more than 10 years ago.

AAP

North Shore Police Area Command and the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad work at an address in Greenwich where the body was found.

"It certainly seems to be the case," a senior police officer working on the case said. "It's correct to say that the victim has been in the house for a long time. [But] there are a lot of factors that come into the investigation, like time, temperature and so on and the forensic investigation continues."

It is understood that police have formally identified the victim, and are in the process of notifying the family of the man, who was aged in his 30s or 40s when he died.

The victim, who police say was known to them, was estranged from his family.

"He hadn't had any contact with his family for a long time," the police officer said.

No missing persons' report was filed.

On Friday, Chatswood acting Superintendant Simon Jones told reporters that it was clear, despite its decomposition, that the body had sustained "a number of injuries".

"We must treat the death as suspicious. It is believed the body has been in the home for a considerable time. The body was covered in an amount of material," he said.

Acting Superintendant Jones said the man's death was both "unnatural" and "very suspicious".

He said that Roberts' hoarding made investigating the home challenging and "not very pleasant for investigators".

Dog squad officers and detectives remained at the house on Friday and numerous items have been seized, including clothing from the body.

The ramshackle property was being cleaned to deal with Roberts' will.

Roberts' body was found in the house after a worker from the local IGA became concerned when he did not come into the shop daily, as was his custom, and went to check on him.

Upon realising the bins at the property hadn't been taken out, the supermarket employee called the police who entered the house and found Roberts' body.

Almost a year later, police are asking what role, if any, Roberts had in the death of the man whose body was found last week.

Neighbours characterised Roberts as a "recluse" and a strange man.

"He was [in his] late 50s or 60s, had the same brown jacket on. He was childlike in a way. He just had no expressions, nothing," a neighbour told the ABC.

"You'd say 'hello' and he'd just mutter 'hello' or just not notice. He lived in this tiny little house on the corner. It's completely overgrown, and you can see rubbish in the garden."

Gayle Meagher, a long-time neighbour, recalled exchanging pleasantries with Mr Roberts.

"He was a bit of a recluse," she told the ABC on Thursday.

"It's creepy and sad, it's just awful that it's next door, very unpleasant," Mrs Meagher said.

Police are urging anyone with information to come forward.