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Elderly mum found dead in ‘piles of rubbish’ in kitchen after going missing two years ago

A 75-year-old woman from East London who had been been missing for more than two years has been found dead surrounded by "piles of rubbish" in a kitchen. Lillian John-Baptiste's body was discovered by Met Police officers who had asked for the public for help in finding her

Ms John-Baptiste, originally from St Lucia, was discovered on February 2 after the Met Police published a photo of her as part of a appeal for help in finding her before Christmas. An inquest into her death opened on Thursday (February 17), which heard that officers arrived at a property to find her body lying among “piles of rubbish”.

She had last been in Newham in September 2019, and was eventually reported missing in July 2021 after her friends and family became concerned. In a poster released on the Caribdirect website in August 2021, her daughter wrote: “My mum has been suffering with a severe mental illness for over 40 years. This is the longest time that no one in the UK and St Lucia has not seen or heard from her.

Met Police When Lillian John-Baptiste was missing her daughter wrote that she had been "suffering with a severe mental illness for more than 40 years"

At the time of her disappearance, it was reported that Ms John-Baptiste required medication for her mental health, but police were unaware of her sourcing any prescriptions from any local medical centres.

Opening the inquest, assistant coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe told the court: “On Wednesday, February 2, police found this woman lying on a kitchen floor amongst piles of rubbish in a state of decomposition. A post-mortem was carried out which gives the cause of death as ascertained due to advanced decomposition. As such, an inquest is required."

On Friday (February 18), the body of a 61-year-old woman was found in a flat in Peckham, after her neighbours had complained of a “horrific stench” for the last two years. A neighbour told The Sun that she was “basically a skeleton” by the time police came around to search the property.

Her death is currently being treated as non-suspicious but unexplained.

Ms John-Baptise’s full inquest will be heard on July 12 at Waltham Forest Coroner's Court in Barking Town Hall. 

Reference: My London: Holly Evans