The Daily Populous Friday August 30th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by Keevan

A 60-year-old Arizona Wells Fargo employee scanned into her office on a Friday on what appeared to be an ordinary workday. Then, four days later, she was found dead in her cubicle.

Denise Prudhomme, 60, was found dead on Aug. 20 in her office in Tempe, police said.

She had last scanned in the building at 7 a.m. on Aug. 16, a Friday, and there was no further scan in or out of the office, authorities said.

Tempe police responded to the Wells Fargo office in the 1100 block of West Washington Street after on-site security called about an employee they believed to be dead. She was pronounced dead at 4:55 p.m., police said.

The cause of death is pending determination by the Maricopa County medical examiner. Police said the preliminary investigation showed no obvious signs of foul play.

It's not clear how Prudhomme had gone unnoticed for so long. NBC affiliate KPNX of Phoenix reported that she worked in a cubicle on the third floor, away from the main aisle.

An employee who spoke with KPNX on the condition of anonymity said that a colleague found her at her desk while walking around the building and that several people had smelled a foul odor but believed it to be faulty plumbing.

Wells Fargo confirmed she sat in an underpopulated area of the building.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague, Denise Prudhomme. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones, and we are in contact to ensure they are well supported during this difficult time,” the company said in a statement Thursday.

It said that it is "committed to the safety and wellness of our workforce" and that it is "reviewing our own internal procedures after this event."

Counselors have been made available to support employees. Prudhomme's fellow employees were told of her death after the company notified her family, Wells Fargo said.

FaxCelestis on August 30th, 2024 at 00:59 UTC »

From an information security perspective (since that’s my career), it’s a little telling that no alerts were flagged for an employee carding into a secure location and then not carding out, especially over a weekend.

JoeyDawsonJenPacey on August 29th, 2024 at 23:59 UTC »

They didn’t have a cleaning company come in at night, in 4 days? Do companies still do this?

GogglesPisano on August 29th, 2024 at 23:28 UTC »

This is so sad. Dying alone at work, unnoticed and unmissed for days. This poor woman deserved better.