A Brooklyn woman known for hoarding junk yesterday led police to skeletal remains that are presumed to be her dead husband.

Police said the woman, believed to be in her 70s, walked into the 68th precinct stationhouse in Bay Ridge at about 8 a.m. and told officers that her husband was dead. When police arrived at her first-floor apartment on Bay Ridge Parkway, they discovered the remains laid out on a bed in the front bedroom of the apartment, covered with a blanket. Police said the woman’s estranged son, who recently reconciled with his mother, discovered the remains and urged her to contact the authorities.

Longtime neighbors, who identified the woman as Joanne Iverson, said they believed the husband had been away or ill for the past several years. They said Mrs. Iverson and her husband, Frank, who would now be 78, had lived in the building for more than 28 years. It was common knowledge in the apartment building that Mrs. Iverson hoarded newspapers and vast quantities of junk in her home.

Some neighbors said they were sad to learn what had happened, but not shocked.”If she feels it almost impossible to get rid of things, it must have been just impossible for her to get rid of the body of someone she loved,” a neighbor, Bonnie King, said. “It’s just sad,” she added. “She’s a nice lady, great sense of humor, very kind.”

Ms. King said Frank Iverson, who worked as a painter, painted her dining room several years ago. “He was very hardworking,” she said. “They were very fond of each other.” Ms. King said Mrs. Iverson told her several times over the past few years that Frank was visiting friends in upstate New York.

However, others in the building said they sensed something was wrong in the couple’s apartment. “It used to smell,” a neighbor across the hall, Anna McCoy, 70, said. “I don’t know if she was crazy or what.” Those familiar with the investigation said residents had complained of a foul odor in the past, and that a superintendent had sprayed deodorizer, not realizing the woman may have been hiding a dead body.

Yesterday, police indicated the remains may have been there for up to three years, the last time they said the son saw his father alive. Authorities did not file charges against the woman. A spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner said an autopsy is scheduled for today.