After being “half eaten” by her beloved pet dogs, a mother was discovered dead in bed.
Police discovered Sarah Elizabeth Jay’s decaying body in her Lytham, Lancashire, apartment on April 23.
Officers first raised the alarm when they saw a lot of flies at the house’s window.
They observed the 54-year-old retired personal trainer lying on the bed as they peered through a crack in the curtains.
According to Lancs Live, PC Rebecca Bell “instantly noticed the odour of death” when she entered the apartment before finding Sarah’s body.
Her skull, neck and chest were badly decomposed and PC Bell returned to her colleague outside and said: “It’s a skeleton,”.
Sarah, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, was found to have a significant level of morphine in her system, according to testimony given at an inquest at Blackpool Town Hall.
A coroner was unable to determine the precise cause of death, though.
Her devastated daughter Beth testified before the court that her mother had been using morphine that she had obtained from her deceased father, who had been prescribed it as part of end-of-life care, to manage back pain brought on by degenerative disc disease.
Sarah, who was living alone, was said to have four dogs and one cat.
Officers were called to Sarah’s apartment on April 23 when a neighbour reported not seeing Sarah for two days, and they saw three of the dogs jumping up at the window.
PC Andrew Crowe, one of the first officers on the scene on April 23, said in a statement: “We arrived at 12.15pm and we saw flies in the ground floor window and a dog jumping up.
He concluded: “The body was badly decomposed and it was evident that part of the body had been eaten by animals.”
Sarah’s daughter Beth told the coroner that she had last seen her mum in January, although they had spoken more recently, and this was normal as they lived some distance away from each other. “We last spoke on April 8,” Beth said.
“She wasn’t good, that had been evident from February, she had been accusing me of hacking into her bank account and she thought I was working together with her ex-husband,” she said.
“I tried to seek help for her by calling 111 but they basically told me that as she was an adult she could just refuse help.”
“There was a strong smell of death. I forced entry and PC Bell went in first. She turned round and said ‘it’s a skeleton’.”
He concluded: “The body was badly decomposed and it was evident that part of the body had been eaten by animals.”
Sarah’s daughter Beth told the coroner that she had last seen her mum in January, although they had spoken more recently, and this was normal as they lived some distance away from each other. “We last spoke on April 8,” Beth said.
“She wasn’t good, that had been evident from February, she had been accusing me of hacking into her bank account and she thought I was working together with her ex-husband,” she said.
“I tried to seek help for her by calling 111 but they basically told me that as she was an adult she could just refuse help.”
Daughter Beth continued: “She said she felt that some days she couldn’t get out of bed because of her back and that was stressful for her because she was so active and loved walking the dogs.
“I don’t believe she would have taken her own life. She wouldn’t have left her dogs and I went in the flat after she died and the dog food was out on the side ready for the next day.”
Beth Jay said that her mum “had many friends” and was loved by a lot of people. “She wasn’t a recluse, she was very active and a lot of people loved and cared about her.”
