Six months ago Emmy-winning set designer and member of varying art production teams Evelyn Sakash went missing. Her sister Ellen Brown had been keeping tabs on her missing case and dealing with her property, but this week she sent in a cleaning crew to clear her sister’s home. It was there that Evelyn Sakash was found dead under a pile of debris. She was 66.
On Tuesday, a cleaning crew was dispatched to Evelyn Sakash’s home in the College Point section of Queens six months after she had gone missing. Sakash had been a known hoarder before her death and was found in the kitchen of her home under an “avalanche of trash,” according to the NY Daily News, which first reported the news.
Her cause of death is being considered natural and while cause of death has not been determined yet, there is no foul play suspected in her death. Ms. Sakash’s body was found on Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. ET; the last time she had been seen previously was on September 30, 2020.
In the time since her disappearance a GoFundMe had been set up for Ellen Brown to help her in dealing with investigating the dissapearance as well as caretaking her sister’s estate. Now funeral costs will be required as well, so the GoFundMe has been updated to take into account those considerations, with a note from the moderator mentioning:
Dearest loved ones of Evelyn. Our beautiful sister Evelyn was found deceased in her home yesterday, Tuesday, March 30th. At this time, a cause of death has not been determined. Evelyn's sister Ellen Brown has retained the cleaning company that found her and must now plan Evelyn's funeral as well. I would like to double the Go Fund Me fundraising goal to $20,000 to assist Ellen with these expenses, which will be large. Please consider making a donation in Evelyn's memory so we can support Ellen and remember her as the kind, loving, and generous friend and sister we live and will miss so.
Donations have been upticking since the news broke.
Evelyn Sakash had a long career in the TV and movies industry, with credits ranging from Taxi to Orange is the New Black and even the nineties kids flick The Big Green, in which she served as production designer. In 2003, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Between the Lions, a children’s series that ran for 10 seasons between 2000 and 2010. Her last major credit was on the 2016 TV movie Once in a Lifetime.
Our thoughts go out to everyone who was affected when Evelyn Sakash went missing. While this was likely not the result that those missing her had hoped for, at least there is some comfort in knowing what happened and being able to seek closure.
