Westside : Postal Program to Help Homebound Elderly

Responding to the 1994 death of an elderly West Hollywood woman who died locked in a closet in her home, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood station and the U.S. Postal Service are asking mail carriers to alert authorities if an unusual amount of mail piles up at a residence.

The new Carrier Alert Program starts today in front of the Crescent Heights Boulevard home in which Carol Fuller, 72, died. She was trapped by robbers in her bedroom closet during December, 1994.

Fuller, who lived alone, had not been seen for two months when her body was discovered Feb. 2. She died from dehydration, sheriff’s deputies said. One of the few outward signs indicating something was wrong was the mail piling up on her doorstep.

The Carrier Alert Program calls for participating residents to place a sticker in the inside of their mailbox or their window to notify postal carriers they want the Sheriff’s Department alerted if mail is not collected or if postal workers see anything unusual.

“The program is primarily aimed at people who are homebound and don’t have much contact with other people,” said Susan Duenas, West Hollywood’s neighborhood services specialist. Between a quarter to a third of the city’s 36,000 residents are senior citizens, she said.

Residents can contact the West Hollywood sheriff’s crime prevention unit for the free stickers