UK Officials Say They Failed SA Woman Who Lay Dead in Her London Flat for 3 Years, 89 Attempts to Contact Her

• UK authorities said they should have connected all available information regarding Sheila Seleoane’s death
• The South African woman lay dead in her London apartment for three years before her body was found
• The Peabody trust said that landlords do not enter their tenant’s homes without the police or legal processes

LONDON - Almost three years after Sheila Seleoane’s death, police in London have opened an inquest docket. The woman’s remains were found on her sofa in her one-bedroom flat in Peckham, South London.

At least 89 attempts were made to contact the woman via telephone calls, SMSs and emails. However, her body was not discovered until earlier this year. According to News24, Peabody Chief Executive Ian McDermott apologised for not supporting the residents at the building enough.

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The Peabody trust provides affordable housing for the “working poor”, and McDermott said that landlords do not enter their tenant’s homes without the police or legal processes.

He said the trust should have connected all available information and done more to support residents who raised concerns. The Peabody group also added that it failed to connect the dots.

According to the Daily Mail, the housing association arranged and paid for Seleoane’s remains to be flown to South Africa, where her distant family lived.

Tributes pour in for the woman:

Deon Meyer said:

“The saddest part in all of this is not that she laid there for more than 2 years. It’s the fact that she was so alone that for more than two years nobody attempted to make contact with her. Not her family, not even her employer. How lonely a life must you lead to go through that?”

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RiFifi Fenty commented:

“Friends, family, and colleagues never bothered to check up on her. Defaulting on payments and pilling up of mails never raised alarms? Wow, this sounds like a movie and it’s so heart-wrenching. I can imagine what she went through OMG this is too sad.”

Eyethu Nje wrote:

“You can now finally RIP Mam Sheila... a lot of people failed you. There’s no Ubuntu anymore, we live in a cold, cold world. I’m so devastated!”

Elizabeth Margaret Groves added:

“Disgusting that not a single soul thought to go to her flat in person - there is too much reliance on electronic communication these days. How very sad she had no one who cared enough to raise the alarm.”

Rest in peace: Mzansi woman who lay dead in London flat for 3 years has finally been buried on home soil

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported a South African woman by the name of Sheila Seleoane has taken headlines all over the world after her body was returned home three years after she passed away in her London apartment.

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Many people immigrate for medical and financial reasons, leaving many loved ones behind. Sheila was one of those and ended up dying alone.

Source: Briefly News