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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Alahna Kindred

Cops say no one else involved after mummified woman lay dead for nearly four years

Police have said no one else was involved after a woman was found "mummified almost skeletal state" in her flat after being dead for nearly four years.

Laura Winham, 38, is thought to have died in November 2017 but wasn't found until May 24, 2021.

Her brother Roy called the police to break into the property to check on her after seeing what he thought he saw a foot under a blanket when peering through the letterbox.

Surrey Police said they attended and found a body in the flat in Woking.

They said no one else was involved. Laura was identified through dental records.

Laura Winham, 38, had been lying dead in her home for nearly four years before she was found (Hudgell Solicitors)
Laura lived in this block of flats (@BBCSurrey/Twitter)

It is now believed no one had physically seen Laura in three-and-a-half years.

In October 2017, a month before it is thought Laura died, Surrey Police reported concerns to the Surrey County Council after visiting.

The officers, who are also thought to have been the last to see Laura alive, said she had been self-neglecting, had little food and appeared unaware of how to access local services for help.

In a statement, a force spokeswoman said: "Police attended an address in Woking following a concern for safety report on 24 May 2021. Sadly, the body of a woman in her 30s was found inside the property.

Laura had been living in Woking, Surrey at the time of her death (Hudgell Solicitors)

"An investigation was completed and officers were satisfied that there was no third-party involvement. A file was passed to the coroner.

"Officers previously attended the address in October 2017, no offences were identified and a report was completed and shared with adult social care at that time."

Laura's sister Nicky said: "Everybody who was in contact with Laura and had a duty to her at some stage simply wiped their hands of her and forgot her. She was abandoned and left to die."

Nicky said the family were unable to maintain contact with her after years of schizophrenia caused her to believe they would harm her.

Nicky said: "Laura has been so badly let down. It's just heartbreaking to think of how she lived in her last few years, unable to ask for help, without anyone there for her, it's just tragic."

She continued: "There were so many warning signs, from the social care and mental health teams to her landlords, yet everyone seems to have turned a blind eye.

"For three years and seven months nobody from the council checked the internal state and condition of her flat and at no point during this time were annual gas checks carried out."

In 2014, a referral was made to Woking Community Mental Health Recovery and her GP said she was unwell and no one appeared to be watching her.

The solicitors say this was never followed up.

In 2016, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) wrote to Laura several times to say her Disability Living Allowance (DLA) would be ending and she would need to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The payments stopped after the solicitors say checks were not carried out to see if she had been able to decide for herself to reapply.

When police saw Laura in October 2017 they also told the council her phone was not working.

However, the adult social care teams tried to call her, and then simply wrote to her providing details of local food banks and contact details for support teams.

When they did not receive a response, her case was reportedly closed in the system without any contact being made.

When no response was forthcoming, her case was closed on the system after two weeks, without any contact ever being made.

It is believed Laura died a few weeks later in November 2017, as the markings she had made on her calendar stopped – shortly after she had written ‘I need help’.

Statements from both Surrey County Council and Woking Borough Council offered their "heartfelt" and "deepest" condolences to Laura's family and said they would continue to support the coroner with their inquiries and the inquest process.

The Mirror contacted the NHS for a comment.

A pre-inquest review hearing into Laura's death is scheduled to take place on January 30 at Surrey Coroner’s Court.

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