THE tragic final diary entries of a woman found “mummified” in her flat three years after she died have been revealed.
Laura Winham was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey, on May 24, 2021 – but her loved ones believe she died in November 2017.
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Surrey Coroner’s Court was told the cause of the 38-year-old’s death was “unascertained” and that it was impossible to narrow down a time of death.
However, she had been crossing off dates on her calendar up until November 1, 2017.
The inquest also heard diary entries Laura had written in the months before she is believed to have died.
One on September 28, 2017, read: “My mobile gave up on 7 September. I got a Tesco run in before it died.
“I have slept weeks away… I haven’t stocked any food for months because I don’t know what’s happening.”
Other extracts suggested she had been living off potatoes and cheese and had “about five pounds left on me”.
In October 2017, Laura wrote: “It has been a whole month since my last food shop. I cannot believe I have survived this long”.
She also scrawled “I’m starving” on her calendar on September 15, 2017, and told how she was “dreaming of food”.
The inquest heard how Laura had schizophrenia and believed her loved ones were trying to harm her so had asked them not to contact her.
Sister Nicky Winham told an inquest how the tragic discovery was made when Laura’s worried mum and brother went to her home.
She added: “They were shouting her name and looking through the letterbox.
“My brother saw what he thought was a seriously decomposed body.
“They called the police and forced entry and found a mummified, almost skeletal body.”
Nicky said her heartbroken mum and brother would never forget seeing Laura’s body.
The court was told Laura suffered from Goldenhar Syndrome and had undergone several operations during her childhood.
The rare condition causes incomplete development of the ear, nose and spine.
Laura was also born deaf and needed hearing aids and also had surgery for a hole in her heart in 2018.
Nicky said despite her health problems, her sister was a “bright, fun and loving” and loved practical jokes.
But in her teenage years, Laura was diagnosed with depression and became increasingly “odd and erratic”, the inquest was told.
Nicky said she also suffered from delusional thoughts and hallucinations.
In 2014, Laura wrote to her brother saying: “It is best to have minimum/no contact. And communications with the family – it’s totally out of my hands.
“There is nothing I can do. Everything I say will get repeated and relayed back. Be patient.”
Nicky said the family believed they were respecting Laura’s wishes as having contact “exacerbated her mental health difficulties”.
The inquest continues.
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