The owner of the home, Bruce Roberts, surrounded the body with 70 bottles of air freshener to mask the smell, local media reported. He was described as having a hoarding disorder. The body of the intruder, identified as Shane Snellman, was not discovered for almost a full year — after Roberts himself was discovered dead at home on July 21, 2017, at the age of 50. Snellman was 39-years-old at the time of his death and despite the severe decomposition of his corpse, he clearly had a gunshot wound to the left clavicle, the inquest revealed.
Snellman's body was not discovered in Roberts' home until May 29, 2018, when cleaners hired to excavate the trash in Roberts home after his death made the gruesome discovery. Magistrate Derek Lee told the coroner's court that the court believed Snellman died between October 18, 2002, when he was last seen alive shortly after his release from prison on drug charges, and October 22, 2002, when he would have withdrawn his social security payment. Lee also said it was unlikely the two men had known each other and that it was most likely Snellman had attempted to burglar Roberts' home when he was shot and killed. Nineteen firearms were uncovered inside the home as well.
Roberts' family described him as an extreme hoarder who was "lonely and socially awkward". He had inherited his home and had AU$700,000 (€444,000 or $542,000) in the bank at the time of his death. Snellman however had just AU$0.66 to his name at the time of his death. Members of Snellman's family in court, however, disputed that Snellman would have broken into Roberts' home on an upscale Sydney street. "He didn't deserve what he got," niece Tiana Snellman told Australian broadcaster ABC. Family members told local media they believed the two men knew each other as they used to live in the same area. Snellman had a history of petty crime and had been acquitted of killing a homeless man when he was just 15 years old.
Roberts' neighbors called police after mail had gone uncollected for some time outside the lower north shore home in Sydney, which has since been gripped by the case of the two men's crossed paths. Senior Constable Shane Spencer who responded to the scene and subsequently oversaw inquiries into Roberts' death told the court he had never seen anything like the level of hoarding police uncovered at Roberts' home. Newspaper The Australian described the home as being filled with trash with only small pathways to walk through. Roberts had covered and nailed shut his windows.
