Review after woman took decomposing daughter out

An elderly woman found pushing her dead daughter around a shopping centre in a wheelchair in east London has prompted a safeguarding board to reassess how it handles some cases.

The pair, identified by the pseudonyms Jodie, in her 50s, and Janet, in her 70s, first become known to Waltham Forest Council in 2013, when they were evicted from their home.

The following year, a council officer raised safeguarding concerns for both, but those concerns were not investigated "rigorously" enough, an independent reviewer said.

In 2023 police officers stopped Janet and discovered Jodie underneath a red coat, in a state of "heavy decomposition".

The two had been sharing a flat in Leyton when Jodie died, and her mother "couldn't bear to part with her" an inquest held last year was told.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said neighbours had started to complain about a bad smell and flies coming from the home in Leyton where Janet had been living with her daughter's corpse for more than a year.

Janet, who was found to be living with a brain tumour, does not face any criminal charges.

Waltham Forest Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) - made up of officers from Waltham Forest Council, NHS North East London and the Metropolitan Police - was told to update and clarify its referral and escalation processes.

The police officers who made the discovery were praised by the independent reviewer, who said: "They had to think and act outside of normal parameters.

"They had no procedures, training or tools to equip them to respond. They acted on their human instinct.

"While this case is bizarre and extremely rare and hopefully will not happen again, it shows the need to provide support to individuals in these situations."

The safeguarding board was also told to consider its responses to "bizarre, shocking and urgent circumstances" and to think about "the kind of leadership required at moments such as these".

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