Pensioner's Body Lay Undiscovered for Six Months

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Family seek help in mystery of Betty Walsh

The decomposing body of a 76 year old woman lay for six months under a pile of post at her run-down property in Southall.

The family of Betty Walsh travelled to Ealing from Ireland in November 2011 concerned they had not heard from her for some time.

They made the grim discovery when police broke into the near derelict house on Lyndhurst Avenue.

A coroner's report said the body was 'in an advance state of decomposition of mummification type.. which is not inconsistent with a perceived post mortem interval of six months.'

The cause of death was unascertained and, at the inquest in May last year, the verdict was left open although it's not thought she died in suspicious circumstances.

The house had broken windows and no heating or running water and neighbours said they didn't think anybody lived there.

Her family believe she may have only used it as a mail collection point and didn't find any of her personal belongings.

Last February the Coroner issued an appeal for anyone who might have known Betty, or knew where she may have otherwise lived, but there were no leads and her family have now contacted us for help.

It's thought she once owned a property in Chiswick, but there are no details, nor of the will that she is thought to have made in the UK.

Caroline Walsh from County Kildare says her Great Aunt may have led some sort of double life and she wants to solve the puzzle. She says it's a total tragedy that her life ended in this way:

''Despite my efforts I have found no information on her at all e.g medical history. There were no personal belongings in this house which leads me to believe she did live somewhere else. She had been a state registered nurse and was a very caring woman, somebody must know this lady and I am very eager to try find out how this happened.''

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30th January 2013