Durban – Very little is known about Sheila Seleoane, the woman whose corpse was found in a London flat – nearly three years after she had died.
While the details of her post-mortem have yet to be revealed, we know only this: Seleoane's mother, Adelina, emigrated from South Africa to the UK in 1954 where she worked as a housekeeper for a London doctor. Seleoane herself worked as a medical secretary and rented a flat from The Peabody Trust.
Seleoane died in her flat in 2019 but her decomposed remains were only discovered a few months ago. After a funeral service, attended by her brother, a prison inmate, and a representative of the Trust, Seleoane's remains were flown to the Eastern Cape where she was buried. Seleoane's last rent payment was made in August 2019.
The 61-year-old's remains were only discovered after neighbours complained at least 50 times of a foul stench, flies and maggots emanating from Seleoane's flat.
A woman identified as “Christine” has shared what little she knows about Seleoane.
Speaking to The Guardian, she said Seleoane looked much younger than her age.
“She was always dressed in black trousers, court shoes and a white shirt,” the woman, who was Seleoane's neighbour, said.
She added that Seleoane never had visitors.
“It’s so hard to understand why none of her friends or colleagues or her boss missed her. No one came to look for her,” the woman said.
Another neighbour revealed that he did not know Seleoane's name but she often greeted his children.
“I never went inside her flat. In this country, you don’t communicate with your neighbours,” the man told The Guardian.
Other neighbours have since expressed remorse, saying that they had busy lives that prevented them from making friends with her.
An inquest has been ordered.
IOL