The boss of a housing association has apologized after a woman lay dead in her south London flat for two and a half years.
The remains of Sheila Seleoane, 58, were found in her Peckham apartment in February of this year – two and a half years after she was last seen in August 2019.
Residents complained of the bad smell in late summer 2019 and repeatedly told Peabody homeowners about concerns over the apartment.
Even so, an inquest into Miss Seleoane’s death found Peabody only made a ‘proactive’ attempt to contact their tenant before cutting her gas, the BBC reported.
‘We didn’t ask the fundamental question: Is Sheila okay?’ Ian McDermott, CEO of Peabody said.
‘We have apologized to the family. We are extremely sorry for what happened.
The skeleton of Sheila Seleoane (pictured) was discovered in her one-bedroom apartment in Peckham, South London, in February
‘I think the biggest apology goes to the residents of God’s Court. They told us something was wrong. ‘
A detailed timeline released by the office of Harriet Harman, Labor MP for Camberwell and Peckham, reveals messages between tenants in which they questioned ‘Is she dead?’ as early as June 2020.
Ms Seleoane has not been seen since 14 August 2019, when she spoke to her GP to schedule an appointment the next day, but she failed to attend.
Her bank records show her last ‘working’ transaction was that month, after she paid her rent to the Peabody Trust via debit card.
In a new detail, the woman living underneath her apartment reported to the neighborhood manager that maggots and flies entered her apartment from Sheila’s window in early September 2019.
Harriet Harman, Labor MP for Camberwell and Peckham, has demanded a full investigation into why Peabody ignored repeated calls from neighbors complaining of horrible smells for more than two years. before. Pictured: God’s Court where Miss Seleoane’s body was discovered
However, she was told by Peabody that their pest control ‘didn’t deal with maggots’.
WhatsApp messages between tenants of Lords Court sent on June 25, 2020 raised fears that she was dead, with one individual asking “is she dead”.
Ash Fox, Peabody’s deputy chief executive, wiped tears from his eyes as he told the inquest Miss Seleoane in Southwark this week that everyone in the housing group was devastated by the circumstances surrounding her death. Teacher.
She told the Inquiry an independent investigation into why Miss Seleoane’s body went undiscovered for more than two years has resulted in 37 recommendations on how they should deal with tenants.
She said: ‘It is clear from the investigation that the procedures have been followed successfully, but there is perhaps still a chance for the dots to be put together sooner and do more to raise the alarm. .
Housing executives say one of the recommendations is to contact all of their tenants who have not been spoken to in a year.
Despite promises to refurbish and redo the apartment where her body was discovered, residents have reported that Peabody has yet to take any action (Image: Flowers left on Ms Seleoane’s doorstep)
Employees will also look for frequent changes in behavior, such as failure to pay rent.
She said so far only nine tenants from the housing group have not been spoken to while another 25 have recently had gas supplies cut off.
Ms Ash said Peabody now applies ‘human touch’ as a social landlord.
She wiped away tears when asked by the coroner what effect the death had had on the employee. ‘Everybody was devastated,’ she said. ‘We realized that much could have been done.’
Housing group Peabody has sent a letter to all tenants on the property apologizing for the ‘missed opportunity’ in Miss Seleoane’s body that went undetected for two and a half years.
Ian McDermott. Peabody’s CEO wrote: ‘This is deeply heartbreaking and we regret not having given you enough support.’
He said an independent report on their failures identified what changes needed to be made. An Altair report is being released suggesting changes to the way the team interacts with their tenants.
Before giving her verdict, the coroner said the cause of death had not been determined to be due to decomposition of the body.
Dr Julian Morris said the cause of death was still unknown. The coroner did not make any recommendations.
However, he commented that a body that can go undetected for more than two years is ‘hard to determine in 2022’.
