In a case that is ‘difficult to fathom, the skeletal remains of a woman named Sheila Seleoane were found by police in her flat more than two years after she died. Notably, an inquest heard her landlord kept taking rent and cutting off her gas. However, he made no contact.
About the woman
The remains of Sheila Seleoane, 61, were found on the floor of her home in Peckham, London, in February this year. Three neighbours had reported her missing in 2020. Notably, her gas supply had been shut off, but nobody “joined the dots”.
Police discovered her “skeletal state”. It was after receiving a phone call from a neighbour, that an inquest into her death was heard. The former medical secretary last paid her rent in August 2019. All the details of the woman were shared with the Southwark Coroners Court.
The woman then fell behind on her payments. Thereafter, an application was later submitted for the rent to come out of her benefits. This application, as reported by Mail Online, was approved in March 2020. Thereafter, Sheila’s housing association Peabody subsequently received monthly rent payments even though no one had been in contact with her.
Peabody cut off her gas supply when they asked to do a gas check and got no response. Wells Chomutare, director of neighbourhoods at Peabody, said: “We had the picture, we did not then join the dots in order to paint the picture. “We are really not expected to force entry unless it’s a very extreme situation.”
She had to be identified through dental records
When police finally discovered her body, she had to be identified through dental records. Albeit, the officers did not find her death suspicious. Detectives opined that she passed away in August 2019. It was concluded after looking at best-before dates on food in her fridge and discovering she had not paid that month’s rent to house association Peabody Trust.
Assistant coroner Dr Julian Morris recorded an open conclusion to Sheila’s death, adding: “Any death is sad, but to lie undetected for all likelihood for over two years is difficult to fathom in 2022.” The inquest heard by June 2020, three worried neighbours had reported her missing.
Two checks were carried out by police in October 2020, but on both occasions, officers felt they didn’t have enough reason to force their way in and left. After the second check the housing association was mistakenly told by police Sheila had been found “safe and well”, it said.
A post-mortem was not able to find a cause of death as Sheila’s body was found in a decomposed state.
