Council ‘failed to follow up concern for woman who lay dead in flat for years’

Surrey County Council failed to follow up on police concerns for the welfare of a vulnerable woman who lay dead in her flat for years, an inquest has been told.

Laura Winham’s remains were found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, in May 2021.

The 38-year-old’s loved ones said they asked police to break into her home after they grew concerned for her safety.

They said she was “abandoned and left to die” by social and mental health services and that she died in November 2017 – three-and-a-half years before her body was found.

Kate O’Raghallaigh, representing the family at a pre-inquest review at Surrey Coroner’s Court, said Surrey Police officers visited Ms Winham’s flat when she was still alive in October 2017.

She said they reported their concerns – that she had been neglecting herself and had little access to food – to the county council.

“There was a risk to Laura of malnutrition and self-neglect in October 2017 when she was observed by police,” Ms O’Raghallaigh said.

A calendar in Ms Winham’s flat had dates crossed off until November 2017, she said.

But the exact date of Ms Winham’s death is unknown, the inquest heard.

Katie Ayers, representing the county council, said the authority accepts a care assessment for Ms Winham should have been done after the police visit.

“What Surrey County Council has accepted is that a section nine check should have been completed but it was not,” she said.

Ms Ayers added: “There may have been a risk in relation to malnutrition. At this stage that would seem to be speculative.”

A cause of death has yet to be determined, which Ms O’Raghallaigh described as a “very unusual factor in this case”.

She asked assistant coroner Dr Karen Henderson to engage a forensic anthropologist to investigate whether Ms Winham’s death was caused by malnutrition and establish a window of time in which she may have died.

Dr Henderson said she will provide a written decision on the matter in the coming weeks.

She scheduled another pre-inquest review for March 15 and set a provisional full hearing date for April 3.