London: An elderly and reclusive woman died unnoticed and her body was gnawed by her cats as she lay unnoticed inside her home in Britain for several weeks, an inquest has heard.
Janet Veal's body was found with parts "gnawed and eaten" by animals that had been left without food for up to three months, The Independent reported Tuesday.
Her neighbours raised the alarm after noticing mail build-up in the 56-year-old's letterbox, and realising they hadn't seen her for some time.
Southampton Coroner's Court was told how police gained entrance to the building via an unsecured upstairs window and noticed that the floors were covered in rubbish and rooms hadn't been aired in months.
PC Dave Ivey said as he moved onto the ground floor of the building, the majority of dogs and cats were already dead. But, in the kitchen, he finally discovered Veal's partially-eaten body.
