Elderly woman found pushing daughter’s decomposed body around east London

An elderly, grief-stricken pistillate was recovered pushing the severely decomposed assemblage of her girl successful a wheelchair astir a municipality centre, a tribunal has heard.

Joan Kathleen Turnell, past 77, was recovered by constabulary arsenic she pushed her big girl Tracey’s remains astir Walthamstow, eastbound London, an estimated 14 months aft she died.

Tracey had been deceased for truthful agelong that each her organs, including her brain, had turned to powder, an inquest was told.

Neighbours had complained for months of ‘horrendous’ smells and a alert infestation, but erstwhile lodging relation officers knocked connected their doorway connected the greeting of November 7, 2023, Ms Turnell refused to fto them in.

In an effort to person officers her girl was inactive alive, she wrapped up her assemblage and took it retired for a locomotion successful her wheelchair.

Suspicious lodging relation officers followed and, arsenic she passed, they detected a ‘vile’ odor from the wheelchair and alerted police, who stopped Ms Turnell and discovered the ‘heavily’ decomposed body.

DC Emma Roberts told the inquest successful a connection that the assemblage was precise decomposed and Ms Turnell was sectioned nether the Mental Health Act.

Ms Turnell asked officers astatine the time: ‘Why can’t they conscionable permission america alone? We person been good and I person been looking aft her.’

The parent and daughter’s flat, adjacent Whipps Cross Hospital, was ‘extremely hazardous’.

Ms Turnell was diagnosed with prolonged grief upset and recovered to beryllium suffering from a encephalon tumour.Mr Irvine told East London Coroner’s Court she had ‘severe’ intelligence wellness problems.

‘I recovered it inhumane to summon Mrs Turnell present contiguous to springiness unrecorded evidence,’ helium said. ‘I don’t deliberation the quality and prime of her grounds would person assisted me.’

Mr Irvine besides criticised Waltham Forest Council for not heeding erstwhile warnings astir the squalid conditions of the pair’s level and their wellbeing, citing missed opportunities to safeguard the young woman.

‘It is simply a truly, genuinely appalling case. A horrific case,’ helium said. The assemblage was truthful decomposed by November 2023 that a pathologist couldn’t place immoderate origin of death.

‘I haven’t the archetypal hint however Miss Turnell died and truthful volition person to permission that arsenic an unascertained conclusion,’ Mr Irvine said.

Ms Turnell was ne'er prosecuted for preventing the lawful burial of her daughter’s body, and wrote successful a connection that she kept Tracey due to the fact that she ‘couldn’t carnivore to portion with her’.

Tracey, calved successful October 1971 astatine Walthamstow’s Thorpe Coombe Hospital, had attended Highams Park School.

Suffering from a curved spine, a damaged genu and deformed arms, Ms Turnell said her wheelchair-bound girl had nary friends and had ne'er had immoderate romanticist partners. She lived an ‘internalised, withdrawn’ beingness with her mother.

The tribunal heard the brace weren’t registered with GPs, didn’t person authorities documents and had nary net access.

Tracey didn’t ain a telephone and constabulary ne'er recovered a azygous photograph of her; with her assemblage having to beryllium identified by DNA.

Her mum said Tracey died astir September 2022, erstwhile they watched a film. By the clip a pathologist looked astatine her assemblage successful precocious 2023, her assemblage was severely decomposed.

Mr Irvine added: ‘At the hazard of sounding overly dramatic, this is simply a decease successful which I reflected connected that due to the fact that it seems to maine determination were multi-factorial issues connected assorted aspects of nine that meant if thing antithetic had been done earlier, this tragic acceptable of circumstances whitethorn person been avoided.’

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