Vulnerable woman who lay dead in flat for three years wrote ‘I’m starving’ and ‘dreaming of food’ in her diary

3 October 2024, 15:52

Laura Winham&squot;s "mummified and almost skeletal" body was found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, on May 24 2021
Laura Winham's "mummified and almost skeletal" body was found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, on May 24 2021. Picture: PA

By Will Conroy

A woman whose body lay dead in a flat for years wrote "I'm starving" and "I can't believe I'm surviving this long" in diary entries prior to her death, an inquest has heard.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Laura Winham's "mummified and almost skeletal" body was found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, on May 24 2021.

Ms Winham, who was 41 when discovered, was found after family members asked police to break into her home following concerns over her safety.

Her cause of death was 'unascertained' and it was impossible to narrow down a time of death, a pathologist told an inquest at Surrey Coroner's Court, which was attended by three members of her family.

But a calendar in Ms Winham's flat had dates crossed off until 1 November 2017 while extracts from her diary revealed she was running low on food and money, the court heard.

Read more: Schizophrenic woman found in 'mummified almost skeletal state' after lying dead and undiscovered for four years

Read more: Hunt for key witness after death of woman whose 'mummified' body lay undiscovered in her flat for four years

An entry dated 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", with one dated from October 2017 reading: "It has been a whole month since my last food shop. I cannot believe I have survived this long".

Details of Ms Winham's calendar were also read out to the court with the vast majority of dates having been crossed off with short notes until 1 November 2017, when all entries stopped.

An extract from September 15 2017 read: "Wish I'd bought rice. Dreaming of (food). Anyway, I'm starving." This was followed up with a series of meal recipes which Dr Henderson said "appeared to be from a cookbook with page numbers".

Laura Winham&squot;s "mummified and almost skeletal" body was found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, on May 24 2021
Laura Winham's "mummified and almost skeletal" body was found by her brother in her flat in Woking, Surrey, on May 24 2021. Picture: PA

Ms Winham's sister Nicola previously told the court that her sister had developed a fear of leaving her flat and wrote notes on her calendar which specified days for online shopping and taking the bins out.

Pictures of her flat, which were taken by police following the discovery of her body, were shown to the court on Thursday.

The images showed a tube of margarine and tomato sauce in her fridge and a mixture of herbs, spices, salt and vinegar in her cupboards while bags of loose change containing one and two pence pieces were also found by police.

The inquest heard that Ms Winham's family had been unable to maintain contact with her after years of mental health struggles caused her to believe they would harm her.

Read more: Officer accused of Chris Kaba murder ‘had genuine belief’ he and his colleagues would be killed

Nicola told the inquest on Tuesday that they last saw her in person in 2009, and contact over social media had stopped in 2014 after she sent them a message on Facebook which read: "It is best to have minimum/no contact. And communications with the family. It is totally out of my hands. There is nothing I can do. Everything I say will get repeated and relayed back. Be patient."

The family said they believed they were doing the right thing by respecting Ms Winham's wishes to have no contact with them. Nicky told the court: "We knew that contact with us exacerbated her mental health difficulties."

Nicola also told the court that her brother and mother visited her flat after they became concerned about her welfare. When there was no response to their knocks, they decided to look through the letterbox.

She said: "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. Inside they found a mummified and almost skeletal body. Both of them saw this and the shock can never be forgotten."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Disabled people to be given right to try working without risk of losing benefits in welfare reforms.

Disabled people to be given right to try working without risk of losing benefits in welfare reforms

Britain's Prince William, Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), and Kate, the Princess of Wales, Patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), pose for a photo with Leif Thobroe

William and Kate cheered on opposite sides at Wales v England Six Nations match

Wes Streeting MP - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - in Downing Street 12th March 2025 - the day before NHS England was abolished.

Scrapping NHS England is ‘beginning, not the end’ says Streeting, vowing to cut hundreds of quangos

A view of the pollution caused by garbage and various wastes following the thousands of Palestinians displaced under the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel have returned to the northern Gaza Strip in Jabalia, Gaza on March 13, 2025.

US rejects Hamas’s ‘entirely impractical’ demands to implement ceasefire as talks reach impasse

Antoine Dupont and Gregory Alldritt of France lift the Six Nations Trophy after their team's victory during the Guinness Six Nations 2025 match between France and Scotland at Stade de France

France win Six Nations after beating Scotland, shattering England title hopes

The US has launched large strikes in Yemen as Donald Trump promised "overwhelming lethal force" until the Houthis cease attacks on shipping.

US launches strikes on Yemen as Trump promises 'overwhelming lethal force' against Houthis

Rich people are getting married at a way higher rate than those with lower incomes as the ‘marriage gap’ between rich and poor hits a record 51%.

'Only rich people are getting married', new research suggests, as ‘marriage gap’ widens

"I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me," Jones, who also uses the name Samantha Strable, posted on social media.

American influencer apologises after being threatened with deportation for snatching baby wombat from mum

The Forum Chinese Restaurant

Chinese restaurant chef uses CCTV to prove 'nonsense' reviews wrong

Soccer - International Friendly - Venezuela v Nigeria

England star John Fashanu arrested over 'five crimes' as he sues police for £100,000 compensation

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

'Stranded' NASA astronauts set to return from nine month space mission - but what health issues could they face?

Exclusive
Jordan Stephens, Rizzle Kicks star.

Rizzle Kicks star says children 'rely' on online communities for connection as he says 'boredom' to blame for rising crime

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room after hosting virtual meeting with international leaders to discuss support for Ukraine.

Military chiefs to meet in UK next week - as Starmer confirms Ukraine peace effort ‘moving into operational phase’

Smoke billows from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast in England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Dan Kitwood/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian captain of Solong container ship remanded in custody following crash with US oil tanker

BRITAIN-UKRAINE-DIPLOMACY-POLITICS-DEFENCE

'Coalition of the willing': Starmer hosts Ukraine peace summit as PM urges Putin to 'come to the negotiating table'

Joanne Penney, 40.

Five charged and one arrested after fatal shooting of 'deeply loved' mother