Featured Image Credit: PA / Hudgell Solicitors
Topics: Health, UK News, Mental Health
Brenna Cooper
Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find upsetting
The harrowing diary entry of a woman who was found 'mummified and almost skeletal' in her flat has been revealed.
An inquest into the death of 41-year-old Laura Winham is currently ongoing at Surrey Coroner’s Court after she was found deceased in her flat on 24 May, 2021. The heartbreaking discovery was made after Ms Winham's family asked police to perform a welfare check.
It is believed that Ms Winham had been dead for around three years before she was found.
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The inquest has so far found that Ms Winham's cause of death is 'unascertained' while a coroner provided an insight into her final months by reading out extracts from her diary.
Ms Winham's exact date of death is not known, however, the court heard that a calendar discovered in her flat had dates crossed off until 1 November, 2017, while diary entries revealed that she was 'starving'.
"It has been a whole month since my last food shop. I cannot believe I have survived this long," an entry from October 2017 read, while a heartbreaking entry from 15 September 2017 simply read: "Wish I’d bought rice. Dreaming of (food). Anyway, I’m starving."
Photographic evidence taken from her flat also revealed a sparsely stocked kitchen with a fridge containing 'a tub of margarine and tomato sauce' while her cupboards had only 'a mixture of herbs, spices, salt and vinegar'.
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Bags of loose change consisting of just 1p and 2ps were also found around the flat.
The inquest also heard how Ms Winham's family were unable to face much contact with her over the years due to her mental health conditions. It's understood that Ms Winham had requested minimal contact with her family due to a belief in which they would harm her.
She had last had physical contact with her family back in 2009, Ms Winham's sister Nicola also recalled receiving a message from her in 2014 which asked for 'minimum/no contact' with the family.
"We knew that contact with us exacerbated her mental health difficulties," she added.
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Susan Harrison, who chaired a safeguarding adults review panel, also testified during the inquest "the family had done absolutely everything they could have done in these circumstances given Laura was so determined to keep them at arm's length."
Nicola also told the court how her brother and mother had visited Ms Winham's flat in Woking due to fears about her welfare and looked through the letterbox after there was no response to their knocks.
"They were shouting her name and looking through the letterbox. My brother saw what he thought was a seriously decomposed body," she said.
"They called the police and forced entry. Inside they found a mummified and almost skeletal body. Both of them saw this and the shock can never be forgotten."
If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.