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A harrowing inquest heard that Joyce O’Mahony had not been seen by neighbours in Cork since 2022, and that her household had made ‘numerous efforts’ to make contact along with her
The courtroom heard that Joyce lived alone after her mom Patricia died(Image: Getty Images)
A woman was discovered in a severely decomposed state at home. An inquest heard Joyce O’Mahony had been dead for at least six months following her family’s numerous attempts to assist her.
The 57-year-old was found in the back room of her semi-detached house near the Lough in Cork city, Ireland on May 21, 2024. A court heard Joyce lived alone after her mother Patricia passed away in 2021 and led a “evening owl” lifestyle, rarely leaving her home during the day and only going out at night to shop at a nearby supermarket.
Eoin Grant, a local resident who works in pest control, was assisting a neighbour with a rodent issue when he noticed that Joyce’s garden was “very overgrown” and the house appeared abandoned.
He suspected the home may be the supply of the vermin drawback and determined to analyze. Using a crowbar, Mr Grant managed to enter the home, discovering all rooms locked apart from the again one.
The physique was in the home decomposing(Image: CorkBeo)
“It was ajar. I pressured it open. I regarded across the door and there was a decomposed physique taking a look at me,” he said. Meanwhile, Gerard O’Connor, a neighbour of the deceased, revealed that Joyce had lived abroad for many years before returning to Cork in 2010 and would only ever go shopping at night, reports Cork Live.
“I’d see her the odd evening going to Supervalu. You would by no means see her through the day.”
When asked by Coroner Philip Comyn if Joyce seemed to go out of her way to avoid people he replied that this was the case. Mr O’Connor noted that the Gardaà had called to check up on Joyce at one point as her sister hadn’t been able to reach her.
“She (Joyce) advised the guards that she did not need any contact with anybody. You would see the lights on behind the home at evening.”
Mr O’Connor stated that the sunshine was on behind the home each evening. He assumed Joyce was turning it on within the night.
A neighbour stated that when individuals noticed the overgrown backyard they’d ask if anybody was dwelling within the property
(Image: NurPhoto through Getty Images)
However, Sgt Fergus Twomey said that it was doable that the sunshine was left on 24/7 and that the neighbours naturally assumed that it was being turned on at evening as a result of that’s when the sunshine turned obvious to them. Mr O’Connor stated that he final noticed Joyce in October of 2022 when he noticed her outdoors the home in a black overcoat.
He indicated that she would “just walk past” when a neighbour got here throughout her. He stated that when individuals noticed the overgrown backyard they’d ask if anybody was dwelling within the property.
“I’d say ‘yeah but you would never see her.’ She had given us a key years previously to keep an eye on the house but when her mother died she took back the key. That was our last contact with her.”
“Covid came and then you wouldn’t see anyone. I was still working then. I did shift work.”
Testimony was offered by GP Dr Claire McCarthy, who handled Joyce from 2012 to 2018. She said that Joyce had beforehand labored in an X-ray division within the UK and believed she suffered from a persona dysfunction.
Describing Joyce as “sad and reclusive”, Dr McCarthy revealed that she was on antidepressants for melancholy and described her as a “strange lady” however one she received together with. She additionally talked about that Joyce had osteoporosis and probably a historical past of anorexia.
A press release from the O’Mahony household was additionally shared, describing Joyce as a really succesful particular person who had labored in London for 20 years. They famous her withdrawal within the years main as much as her return to Cork in November 2010, following their father’s loss of life.
“She then had the telephone landline disconnected and took control of our mother’s mobile phone. The only way to reach her, and to visit our mother, was by phone text or email, and strictly by appointment only.”
“At this point, seeing that the front of the house was becoming overgrown, she agreed that the work needed to be done, which was paid for by her siblings.”
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