A 77-year-old woman was stopped at a shopping centre in London, wheeling her daughter’s heavily decomposed body in a wheelchair.
Housing staff first worried in November 2023 when neighbors complained of a bad smell plus flies. Staff visited Joan’s flat, but she refused entry. Joan wrapped Tracey in a red coat and took her to a shopping centre in London to prove Tracey lived.
Housing officers followed Joan, noticing a terrible smell from the wheelchair and then called the police. Police stopped Joan, who asked, “Why can’t they leave us alone? We have been fine. I have been looking after her.”
A coroner said Joan was sectioned under the Mental Health Act as her flat was very hazardous. Police saw faeces and fluids, plus rodents and bugs were present. Joan got diagnosed with grief disorder and also had a brain tumor.
She missed the inquest because her mental health was too severe and giving evidence would be inhumane. Joan wasn’t prosecuted for preventing burial because she said she didn’t know the cause of death and claimed ambulances “could not help.”
“I kept Tracey. I couldn’t part with her,” she stated, “I loved her too much.” Tracey dealt with a curved spine, a damaged knee, and deformed arms. She was wheelchair-bound, friendless, and had no romance.
The family lived “off-grid” and were “withdrawn”, and Tracey’s life relied on her mother. Neither Joan nor Tracey saw a doctor, and they lacked ID or internet. Tracey had no phone. Police found no photos but identified Tracey with DNA.
Joan thought Tracey died in September 2022 after they watched a film, and Tracey’s eyes became “fixed and dilated.” She stopped responding completely. Pathologists couldn’t find a cause of death because Tracey’s body was badly decomposed.
The coroner recorded an “unascertained conclusion” and stated the local council missed chances to intervene. He also had “grave concerns” about Tracey’s death and recorded an open verdict.
