Over his dead body: Woman claims Denver mailman stepped over her deceased husband

By: Barry Leibowitz
Topics: Daily Blotter

Front porch of a Denver home where a U.S. postal carrier apparently stepped over a dead man in delivering the mail.

/ CBS Denver

(CBS) DENVER - Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

This unofficial postal motto doesn't say anything about a dead body. Still, a Denver woman is upset, claiming her longtime mailman failed to notice her husband had died on their doorstep.

"I hurt and I'm so angry," widow Hedy Porch told CBS Denver. "I'm angry because he stepped over my husband and put the mail in the mailbox."

The body of Dale Porch was found by his son last Friday outside his home. He'd just been dropped off at home by a coworker after working the nightshift when he collapsed and died before entering the house, CBS Denver reported.

"So in between 9 a.m. and noon when they found him, the mailman came, left the mail and just went on his merry way," Dale Porch's sister-in-law, Kimberly Cordova, said.

A spokesperson for the Denver Post Office says the mail carrier is extremely distraught and thought the body was part of a leftover Halloween display at the house.

"We do know the carrier delivered mail to the house that day, and he remembered seeing something he thought was related to Halloween," the post office said in a statement. "We know this carrier to be a conscientious and dedicated employee. He is someone who would certainly help a customer if he knew they were in need."

The coroner is still determining a cause of death. The carrier has since been moved to a different route.

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by angelofurnightmare November 15, 2012 10:31 AM EST: IT'S sad to think the guuy was doing his job and now people are so upset with him...he didn't kill anyone...the stolen halloween prop theory is sound...as a kid we would take props that had been left out and move them to other yards...it freaks people out to see a zombie on the lawn a week after halloween...or maybe he though the guy was drunk and passed out...have you ever poked someone who passed out...they aren't happy and it can get ugly. Sadly when people die unexpectedly we often "need" to put blame somewhere...logical or not this woman is just trying to deal and being upset with the mail man is easier than facing the reality that her husband is dead.; Reply to this comment


by leezee63 November 14, 2012 3:15 PM EST: How could anyone possibly think the mailman would ignore an actual dead body? I believe he thought it was part of a Halloween display. Why not point the finger at the wife and wonder how she could possibly not know her husband was not in the house when he was returning from work at his usual time. Doing that would be just as lame. This is an awful incident made even worse by ridiculous finger pointing. I feel for the wife, but she needs to work through her grief and not put the blame of her husband's death on this poor mailman.; Reply to this comment


by rightontarget November 13, 2012 1:03 PM EST: So maybe he thought the gentleman was passed out drunk or something. Maybe the mailman just wanted to mind his own business. I've seen leftover holday decorations in people's yards months after the holiday. If you aren't paying close attention and have other things on your mind, like doing your job, it seems understandable. Seriously, I don't know how this woman can feel her husband's death was somehow the mailman's fault! It does no good to grieve by trying to place blame or responsibility on someone else. It was his time to die and people need to get over thinking they have control over these things.; Reply to this comment

by caljack430 November 13, 2012 11:30 AM EST

...left over from halloween...? In many situations that would be a plausible excuse, but assuming this mail carrier worked this route daily, or at least regularly like most do... if it was left over from halloween, why was this 'prop' aka dead body only there a week and a half AFTER the holiday? I feel like he DEFINITELY couldn't have thought it was from halloween if the body wasn't there the previous days...

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by mamareen November 13, 2012 3:20 PM EST: @caljack430: I'd never thought of it that way. Good point! Maybe he figured someone had dragged the "prop" up there from elsewhere in preparation to put it back in storage? Hm...very strange story.


by rightontarget November 14, 2012 1:36 PM EST: Even if the "prop" aka dead body had not been seen at the residence during the Haloween Holiday, it is still plausable to think that some kids could have stolen it from someone else's home and left it there. Years ago we found a Jack-o-lantern dumped on our yard 3 weeks AFTER Halloween that we had previously seen on the porch of a house over 3 blocks away. I still think it is not right for the mailman to have been expected to investigate the situation.