Sheila Seleoane: ‘difficult to comprehend’ how body was not found for years, says coroner

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It was “difficult to comprehend” that a “model tenant” could die and lie undisturbed in her flat for over two and half years, despite not paying her rent and neighbours raising the alarm, an inquest into the death of Sheila Seleoane heard.

On Thursday, coroner Julian Morris said it was “clear something went wrong” when Seleoane’s repeated failure to engage with her landlord, gas engineers or the police, failed to flag up concerns or trigger any suspicions.

The body of Seleoane, 61 – a medical secretary, who appeared to have no friends or close family – was found in February 2022 after a member of the public alerted the police to storm damage on the balcony door of her flat in Peckham, south London, and they forced entry.

“Any death is sad. To lie undetected is difficult to comprehend,” Morris said as he concluded the inquest.

The case has attracted publicity because of the unusual length of time Seleoane’s body went undisturbed at the block, Lord’s Court. This was despite neighbours complaining repeatedly about the smell to their landlord, Peabody Trust, and requesting it carry out a welfare check on her.

Peabody Trust managers who gave evidence at the inquest admitted they had “failed to join the dots”. Ashling Fox, the trust’s deputy chief executive, admitted “we could have raise the alarm sooner”.

Asked about the effect of the case on Peabody staff, a visibly upset Fox said: “You could see everyone was devastated. I don’t think anyone goes into work to do a bad job.”

Police who found Seleoane’s badly decomposed body told the inquest the dates of shopping receipts and food cartons found in her flat suggested the likely time of her death – and the last time she spoke to anyone else – was August 2019.

The inquest heard a local Peabody manager had requested the police carry out a welfare check in October 2021. However, a police error meant they mistakenly reported back to the manager that officers had “spoken to the resident [Seleoane] who was safe and well” and the case was closed.

Morris said medical files showed Seleoane had suffered from inflammatory bowel disease in the past, and had contacted her GP about a chest complaint in August 2019. But there was no evidence of a cause of death, and he issued an open conclusion.

Even had her landlord responded more speedily he did not consider this would have had saved her life. “She was already dead,” he said.