Corpse in public pool overlooked for two days

Shocking revelations that a woman’s body lay undetected at the bottom of a Massachusetts swimming pool for two days, even while the public continued to use the state-run facility, has prompted authorities to order a swift inspection of all city pools.

Two health inspectors who reportedly visited the pool have also been placed on leave after failing to notice the body of 36-year-old Marie Joseph, whose body was discovered by youth who broke into the Fall River pool on Tuesday evening.

According to The Boston Globe, the pool’s permit had expired six months earlier and health inspectors who examined the water just hours before the morbid discovery failed to notice the corpse, only reporting “cloudy” water. 

The New York Times reports the health inspectors had also visited the pool on Monday, with several lifeguards also on duty over the period in question. 

State energy and environmental affairs secretary Richard Sullivan said at a press conference: “You have facts which would appear to indicate that a woman was in the water for a number of days and not noticed by staff or patrons or other inspections that may have taken place.

“I personally find that disturbing. I personally see that as a breakdown systematically somewhere.”

Marie Joseph was last seen going down a slide into the pool on Sunday afternoon.