How can a death go unnoticed in modern society?
Sheila Seleoane was found in her Peckham flat in February 2022 and had to be identified by dental records. Her neighbours initially made complains to their housing association, Peabody, about a foul stench and maggots in 2019 – but the housing association only made one “proactive attempt” to contact the tenant and cut off her gas. Miss Seleoane’s last known contact was with her GP in August 2019, and when her body was found, the cause of her death was unascertained due to the advanced state of composition of her body. But what was she like and who was she? In the second in a series of three, Harry Farley talks to Today’s Justin Webb about loneliness and isolation while living in an urban area.