Adult, Single Woman Forgotten and Lie Dead in Her Home for Two Years Before Body Discovered
I believe this is in London, Great Britain. I’ve read of similar scenarios occurring in the United States.
As I said on Twitter, too many American churches (and even abuse survivor advocates) are too hyper-focused on children to show much interest or care in helping anyone single (or even married) over the age of 30, 40, 50, etc.
I don’t want to fall into the strange, usually liberal habit of insisting that everyone care about a particular topic as much as I do, but I find it troubling and weird that people can clutch their pearls in worry over child neglect or child abuse but not seem to care about elderly (or middle aged) people who die alone and so on.
I guess it’s like people who go looking at an animal shelter to adopt a pet, and they go for the puppies and kittens, rather than the elderly cats and dogs who arguably need care and a home more than the babies do.
As someone who is a former codependent, I myself have to be careful about not adopting a “care taker” role, though.
I spent too many years trying to rescue or look out for other people around me (whether family, co-workers, or neighbors), of whatever age, and I am burnt out.
I don’t see why churches cannot do more in this area, though.
I have several news articles cited on my blog about married people who die all alone.
Yes, even if you are married and even if you have adult children, you can end up dying alone. It happens.
July 22, 2022
by Martin Robinson
Police twice decided not to break into a flat where a medical secretary lay decomposing for two-and-a-half years and even mistakenly claimed she had been seen ‘safe and well’ despite having already been dead for at least 14 months by then, an inquest heard.
Sheila Seleoane’s housing association had also failed to ‘connect the dots’ when she stopped paying rent, her gas was switched off and neighbours complained of a terrible smell emanating from her home in Peckham.
The hearing at Southwark Coroner’s Court was told her rent payments stopped around the time she died, but Peabody was able to arrange for them to be taken from her Universal Credit benefits.
The housing association also switched off Miss Seleoane’s gas supply without making contact with Britain’s ‘forgotten’ woman.
The skeletal remains of Ms Seleoane were finally discovered by police in February this year after officers forced their way into her third floor flat in south London. The 61-year-old was identified by her dental records with police determining there were no suspicious circumstances to her death – which likely occurred in August 2019.
The inquest was told that police had called at the flat twice in October 2020 after concerns that she had not been seen for several months. Her letter box overflowed, and her unopened letters littered the entrance hall, yet the postman kept cramming them in regardless.
… And it also it also emerged that in the same month, a member of Metropolitan Police staff wrongly told Peabody Housing Association that Miss Seleoane had been seen and was ‘safe and well’. The case was then closed.
…The landlords of Ms Seleoane failed to make contact with her despite cutting off her gas for non payment of rent, an inquest heard.
Ms Seleoane, who was not married and whose estranged family live in South Africa, was found dead on her sofa in February 2022.
I don’t want to paste in the whole article. That gives you an idea.
Related:
(Link): Coronavirus: Even Married People With Children Die All Alone
(Link): Even If You’re Married You Can Die Alone – Elderly Married Couple Found Dead
(Link): Husband Dies of Covid-19 Only 48 Hours After Wife Gives Birth to Premature Baby
(Link): Couple Die of Covid, Leaving Behind Newborn and Five Children
(Link): Man Who Lost His Wife Puts Sign in Window Asking for Friends: ‘It’s My Last Resort’
(Link): Why We Thought Marriage Made Us Healthier, and Why We Were Wrong by Bella DePaulo
(Link): Sick, Dying, and Raped in America’s Nursing Homes
(Link): Getting Married Is Not an Accomplishment by N. Brooke
Christian Pundit 