The skeletal remains of Sheila Seleoane have been found on the sofa in her flat more than two years after her death went unnoticed, authorities in London say. A local court has launched an inquest to find out how he died, when – and why no one noticed. Little is known about Seleoane, the daughter of a South African immigrant who grew up in Britain. Even her age – 58, according to the BBC report, but 61, according to The Standard’s report on her death certificate – is uncertain. She lived alone in South London and worked as a medical secretary. Sometime in 2019, late summer or fall, Seleoane died, News 24 reported. But nobody noticed. In February 2022, London’s Metropolitan Police forced their way into her flat and found her decomposing remains on the sofa, dressed in blue pajamas and a white shirt with deflated balloons nearby, the Daily Mail reported. Officials identified her remains using dental records, but were unable to determine her cause of death due to her “advanced state of decomposition,” the BBC reported. On July 21, London’s Inner South Coroner’s Court held a hearing to investigate her mysterious and unnoticed death, News 24 reported. Seleoane’s doctor last saw her in August 2019, the BBC reported. That same month he stopped paying rent. In September, her neighbors complained to the Peabody Trust, the building’s owner, about a terrible smell coming from Seleoane’s flat that filled the hallway, the BBC reported. One resident said he contacted the owner more than 50 times, the Daily Mail reported. Eventually, the smell began to fade. By March 2020, the landlady started taking Seleoane’s rent from her Universal Credit, monthly payments from the UK government. In June, her gas was cut off, the BBC reported. In mid-October 2020, officers visited Seleoane’s home twice in one week to check on her welfare, The Standard reported. They never made contact with her, but inaccurately told her owner that she was “safe and well.” The owner “took no further steps to investigate,” The Standard reported. Celeone’s mail continued to pile up, increasingly involving her neighbors, the Guardian reported. On February 18, 2022, Storm Eunice hit Britain, causing widespread chaos and blowing open the windows of Seleoane’s apartment, the Guardian reported. Hearing banging sounds coming from the apartment, Seleoane’s neighbors called the police to check on her, according to the Daily Mail. It wasn’t until officers returned a third time that they found Seleone’s remains. Coroner Julian Morris told the July 21 hearing that “Any death is sad. “Going undetected for more than two years in all likelihood is hard to fathom in 2022,” the BBC reported. Seleoane’s only remaining family is her estranged brother in Britain and her long-lost relatives in South Africa, News 24 reported. Her remains were sent to South Africa where she was buried. According to The Standard, officials now believe she died of natural causes, likely related to the “wheezing and breathing difficulties” she told her doctor about during her visit in August 2019. The failure of the owner and the police to notice her death prompted independent inquiries to provide recommendations to avoid another similar scenario, The Standard reported. The Peabody Trust apologized to residents, but everyone living on the Seleoane floor asked to move out, the Guardian reported. Aspen Pflughoeft covers real-time news for McClatchy. He is a graduate of Minerva University where he studied communications, history and international politics. Previously, it was reported in the Deseret News.
