Woman had been dead for three years in her apartment in England, social services are accused of neglect

An investigation process was opened after the discovery of the body of a woman in her apartment located in Woking, near London.

This is the case of Laura Winham, whose body was found in May 2021, thanks to her brother. The family considers that he was abandoned by social services and that he died in November 2017.

The 38-year-old woman was cared for by social services since she had distanced herself from her family because she thought they were going to harm her due to the illness she had, schizophrenia. In addition, her privacy laws prevented her from having data about her.

He had been dead for five years, but he paid the rent on time for his house

His brother remembered how he discovered the body, since he had gone to the apartment and having received no response, he tried again for the last time and saw through the mailbox, so he noticed that there were blankets and even a foot there, according to what he recounts. Guardian.

After positioning himself at a better angle, he was able to observe the body and the face, from there he alerted the emergency services and told them that she could have been dead for a while.

The family considers that Laura was “abandoned and left to die” since she lived in social housing and had been referred to a mental health center although her case was not followed up. In October 2017, police officers visited her and warned that she was “neglecting herself, she had little food and seemed to not know how to access local services.”

One of the last entries on her calendar said I need help.

A Surrey County Council spokesman told the BBC that they sent their condolences and that aspects of the case will be reviewed and that they will provide the necessary information.

It had been indicated that the authorities were looking for a gas engineer who carried out a gas safety check at Ms Winham’s apartment in January 2018. However, this was ruled out by Police. (YO)