Husband 'waited for days' to tell wife that son's dead body was in house

A US mother had no idea her eight-year-old son was dead until she started to smell his decomposing body.

Kimberly Tutko told police her husband was responsible for the care of their mentally disabled son, and that she looked after their other child, who is also disabled.

"My daughter relies on me," she told the Pennlive news website.

"I take care of her and my husband takes care of Jarrod Jr."

On Friday night, Mrs Tutko noticed a strange smell coming from the third floor of their house.

It was only then that her husband Jarrod, 38, told her that their son had died days earlier.

"I said to him, 'Why didn't you say anything?'" she said. "He said he was too afraid to say anything because of other kids in the house."

The police have declined to identify a cause of death for the boy, and an autopsy will take place later this week.