Mailman Believes Family Left Him a Note Before Their Deaths

A New Jersey mail carrier who discovered a disturbing message outside a home on his route Friday said he believes the secluded family may have been trying to alert him to the three bodies inside.

Don Clements told the New York Post that he was making his regular deliveries in Mount Holly when he spotted a handwritten sign on the door of a run-down house. It read “9-1-1 Inside” and included crude sketches of two frowning faces with Xs over their eyes.

“I thought it was weird, because the only person that would have been able to see that sign would have been me, ’cause I’m the only one that goes to that house every day,” he said.

“And it’s just like, nobody else can, you can’t see that sign from outside.”

Clements also saw that the mailbox had been wrapped shut with clear tape—the same type of tape apparently used to fasten the unsettling note to the door.

“The only person who goes up to the door is the mail carrier,” Clements said.

“It’s weird. The whole situation was weird. Definitely don’t want it to happen again.”

He called 911, and officers responding to the Winding Way residence found what authorities described as a bloody scene. Inside, they discovered the bodies of three “elderly individuals,” whose names have not been made public.

A mail carrier found a note reading “911 inside,” alongside two drawings of sad faces with Xs over their eyes, near the mailbox by the front door

A neighbor said a group of brothers and sisters had lived in the house

Neighbors said the property had been occupied by siblings, while Clements estimated that three or four people lived in the deteriorating home, which had peeling paint and rotting window frames.

An unnamed neighbor also told the Post that four brothers and sisters lived there and largely kept to themselves.

“I mean, we’ve been here 50 some years. They were here before us, but pretty much stayed by themselves,” she said.

“I do know that one sister was a crossing guard for years. My kids knew her and everything like that. And so she worked parades and other things as a crossing guard here in town.

“The other brother, he was like clockwork. He would always walk down to 7-Eleven around 2.30, 3 and walk on back. I think he got lottery tickets and something to drink.”

Another neighbor, David Babcock, told NBC 10 that one of the brothers had worked at Boscov’s for four decades.

“They were very nice, they didn’t bother anybody,” he said.

The longtime resident who spoke with the Post said that, apart from the brother who made his daily walk to 7-Eleven, the people in the home rarely went outside and did not appear to drive.

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David Babcock said he was not surprised that something troubling may have happened in the house, though he never imagined the residents would be found dead

Babcock said he was not shocked that something bad had occurred at the property, although he never expected the neighbors to be found dead.

“We thought the house would be condemned and they would send them to a group home,” Babcock said.

Residents described the neighborhood as quiet, and the longtime neighbor said she had heard nothing suggesting violence before Friday’s grim discovery.

However, she recalled seeing something unusual when she walked past the neglected house on Tuesday.

“Tuesday is our trash day,” she said. “And I saw someone coming out of the house.

“All the years I’ve been here, I’ve never seen anybody come in, go out of the house [except for the man who walks to 7-Eleven each day].”

“But it was trash day. He had a bag in his hand, took it down to the curb, dropped it next to another container,” she recalled. “It was just a little bag. He put it down and walked away.”

She said the man was dressed entirely in black as he walked away down the street.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office said there is no danger to the public, while autopsies remain pending.

Authorities have not determined how the three people died.

Clements said the discovery continued to haunt him.

“That sign is so bizarre. It just felt weird… That’s not like that happens every day, you know,” he said.

“It’s just, this is the first time I’ve ever, ever seen something like that.”

Police Chief Clifford Spencer said in a statement that he understands “that an incident of this nature is deeply concerning to our community.

“As your Chief of Police, I want to assure you that the safety and security of our residents remain my highest priority,” he said, adding that his “thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.

“As this remains an active investigation, I ask for the community’s patience and understanding as investigators work to determine the circumstances surrounding these deaths.”