hoarder brothers have stated they buried their mother in the backyard after their sister pushed her down the stairs and then laid them to rest when she 'died of covid' cops found the home filled with urine

Police in suburban Chicago were preparing to dig up the backyard of a home where two hoarder brothers claimed to have buried the bodies of their mother and sister. 

Excavation work was set to get under way on Friday in the 3900 block of South Center Avenue in Lyons, located 14 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. 

According to local police, the case began unfolding on Thursday, when officers were called to a home on South Center Avenue to perform a welfare check on two brothers, both in their 40s, after they had not been seen for some time. 

Brothers Michael and John Lelko speak to reporters outside their home in Lyons, Illinois, where police are preparing to dig up the backyard in search of the bodies of their mother and sister, which they claimed to have buried after their deaths

Police were called to the home in the 3900 block of South Center Avenue in Lyons for a welfare check after one of the Lelko brothers had not been seen for some time 

The inside of the brothers' home is pictured. The brothers had to exit their home through a window because of the clutter inside blocking the doors

Police found the home to be crammed top to bottom with garbage and debris, including bottles of urine, feces smeared everywhere, and no running water or working toilets

Several cats and dogs were found running around the property

A utility company also reported that water had not been used at the home, sparking concerns that the inhabitant had died. 

Police found the home to be crammed top to bottom with garbage and debris, including bottles of urine, feces smeared everywhere, and no running water or working toilets.

Several cats and dogs were found running around the property. 

'It was multiple liters of urine,' Lyons Police Chief Thomas Herion told ABC 7 Chicago. 'Every room, the front door, the backdoor were completely barricaded with debris, boxes.' 

The brothers, who were said to have physical and mental health issues, had to exit their home through a window because of the clutter inside blocking the doors. 

Neighbor Martha Aranda Castaneda told Fox 32 that she had not seen one of the Lelkos in over a year. 

'That's the first time I saw him, when took him out,' she said. 

Police said they interviewed the two brothers and learned that their mother died in 2019, and that her death may have been an accident that involved their sister, who then also died.

Speaking later to reporters, the brothers, identified as John and Michael Lelko, claimed that their mentally ill sister had pushed their mother down the stairs in 2015, and that the older woman, in her 70s, ultimately succumbed to a stroke, according to WGN.

Police said they found the residence to be crammed with trash and bottles containing urine; it had no running water or working toilets

Tents are set up outside the Lelko residence in preparation for Friday's excavation in search of the human remains 

The Lelko brothers also reportedly said that their sister died of COVID-19 in 2019, which raised suspicions within the police because the first known cases of the virus in the US were only reported in January 2020.

Police said the brothers told them they buried their mother and sister in their backyard among the carcasses of animals because of COVID-19 fears, and also to save on funeral costs.

The state of Illinois has no records of those deaths.  

The Lelkos were taken to a hospital for medical treatment, but have not been arrested or charged with any crime.

They were later discharged and put up in a hotel, but walked over to their house, still wearing blue hospital gowns, to speak to reporters after seeing news reports on television about the impending excavation in their backyard.

Police said they are treating the case as a homicide investigation for evidence-gathering purposes at this time