Woman’s body lay in flat for months

By Maria de los Reyes Segura Laguna, Cydneii Lung’aho, Melina Gkioka and Maria L Montejano Pedrosa

A 52-year-old woman has been found dead in her home in the Islington borough of Clerkenwell, with police saying she may have died four months before she was found.

The woman’s partially mummified body was discovered without signs of violence after a neighbour reported her disappearance.

Police said the woman suffered from various conditions, such as cancer and schizophrenia. Neighbours said they were unaware of her mental and physical health status.

Residents of the area were amazed by the tragic news.

Rebecca, 31, a mother of one, said: “As a mother I think it is sad that something like this happened without anyone noticing.”

She added, however, that it was not surprising that nobody noticed that the woman had gone missing. “I live in a block so I have lots of neighbours. I would not say I have a relationship with them,” she said.

‘I know who they are, who their kids are, but we are not close. But when I see them I always say hello.”

It appears that the younger generation is not interested in interacting with their neighbours.

Another resident, Francesca, 21, said: “I do not have that relationship with my neighbours, but my stepdad does talk to them. It is an adult thing.”

Islington in the autumn

In June last year, a woman in Southwark lay undiscovered in her flat for months after she died, although neighbours had expressed concern to the council about her welfare.

A neighbour had spoken to the council after water leaked into his flat from hers, and he found her property in extreme disrepair. But the council was “unable to access” her flat after new leaks emerged, according to Southwark News, and did not do welfare checks despite her warning them that she was ill and worried she would be unable to pay her rent.

“This must never be allowed to happen again. Southwark needs to learn some urgent lessons,” it quoted Councillor Victor Chamberlain as saying.