The family of a woman who had been lying dead for three years had raised the alarm, an inquest heard
The family of a vulnerable woman whose dead body lay unnoticed in her flat for more than three years raised concerns about her welfare two months before she was discovered, an inquest has heard.
Laura Winham’s remains were found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, in May 2021 after the family asked police to break in. They previously said she had been “abandoned and left to die” by social and mental health services.
An inquest into her death was opened at Surrey Coroner’s Court on Tuesday. Her landlord, New Vision Homes, which managed homes for the council at the time, said they should have been made aware of Winham’s vulnerability, the inquest heard.
A statement from a former employee of the company, read out at the inquest, confirmed that the family had raised the alarm about Winham’s welfare in March 2021 and the unopened mail accumulating at her door.
It said: “Woking council knocked on the door with no response. At the end of May, New Vision Homes was informed that she had been found dead.”
The statement added that it was “clear that she was vulnerable” and that “she should have been classified as vulnerable as this would have alerted New Vision Homes and Woking City Council to her vulnerability”.
The inquest also found that authorities and energy suppliers had made numerous attempts to contact Winham before her body was discovered.
The council told the inquest it had changed its policies since taking back control of its housing in 2022. It said: “Strict measures have been taken since the return of the housing function to the home. Home visits, phone calls and contacting relatives to help the situation. A new process will ensure that court orders can be sought to gain access to homes.”
Winham’s sister Nicky said her family had been unable to maintain contact with her after years of schizophrenia led her to believe they would harm her.
Nicky told the court that the family last saw her in person in 2009, and that social media contact stopped in 2014 after she sent them a message on Facebook urging them to stay away. It said: “It is best to have minimal/no contact,” the court heard.
Her sister said: “As a family we believed we were doing the right thing by respecting her wish to have no contact with us. We knew contact with us was exacerbating her mental health issues.”
She added that the family had tried to visit Laura in January 2021 as her father’s health deteriorated. After receiving no response from her, New Vision Homes told her sister that they could not help her due to privacy and confidentiality.
She said when her brother and mother visited her flat and received no response, they decided to look through the letterbox.
She said: “They shouted her name and looked through the letterbox. My brother saw what he thought was a severely decomposed body.”
She added: “They called the police and forced entry. Inside they found a mummified and almost skeletal body. They both saw this and the shock can never be forgotten.”
The investigation continues.