Tributes have been paid to a vulnerable young man whose body was discovered in his Douglas flat.
The man has been named as Franc McMurchie, 26, who lived alone in the ground floor flat in Aboyne Avenue.
Ronni Gallacher, 26, said: “I am devastated at the death of my friend Franc. I discovered on Tuesday that someone found his body on Monday night and called the police.
“I haven’t seen Franc for a month, and don’t know how long he had been lying in his flat before he was found.”
Ronni described Franc, who she said had physical and mental health difficulties, as well as learning difficulties, as being very vulnerable.
She added that Franc, who had a “heart of gold”, had recently become the target of drug addicts who lived in his block.
Ronni took matters into her own hands earlier this year after she found Franc living in squalor and tried to intervene with the authorities on his behalf.
She said: “I visited Franc on February 25 and became very concerned.
“He was suffering with mental health issues, as well of the loss of his grandmother, and he had no support.
“Left lying in his bath were his empty used stoma bags, a box in the hall was filled with human waste and sick, the carpet was sticky and wet, and most of the floor had human excrement from his bag.
“There was other rubbish and empty medicine packets. It stank and it was uninhabitable.
“In the corner there was a couch and cushions in which he slept.
“The couch had started to rot away. He slept there every night. He kept it all to himself for fear of embarrassment.”
On another occasion, after Franc had been missing for a month, Ronni went to his flat to see if he was in and his door swung open.
She said: “There was about two inches of filth all over the floor – urine, faeces, sick, medicine, rubbish, empty and used stomas – he clearly had been living in it for sometime.”
Ronni became concerned that local drug abusers had targeted Franc and were manipulating him into handing over his medication.
She said: “His only wish was to move to supported accommodation. He liked everyone and was vulnerable to people – wanting to be their friend – and this resulted in his downfall.
“I am extremely heartbroken at the loss of him. He was known by many and loved to speak to and meet new people. He did anything for anyone and his vulnerabilities were never accounted for. He never, ever, got the help he should have.”
She added: “I don’t think Franc had anyone else to look out for him. I wanted to speak out to show what happened to him and because I don’t want anyone ese to have to suffer the way Franc did. He did not deserve to have to live like this.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police received report of the sudden death of a 26-year-old man at an address in Aboyne Avenue, Dundee, around 3pm on Monday, 28 September, 2020.
“The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not suspicious, and inquiries are ongoing. A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
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