A RECLUSIVE daughter placed her dead mother in a bath tub and covered her in sheets before she died herself, an inquest has heard today.


The mummified bodies of Caroline, 50, and Pauline Jessett, 78, were found in their dilapidated Littlemore home last November.


Police officers said the house had plants growing through it when they forces entry following concerns raised by Environment Health officers.


The body of unemployed Caroline was found in the upstairs bedroom and her mother was found in the bath a week later after the building had been made structurally safe, Oxfordshire Coroner's Court heard.


Pauline Jessett's body was found covered in sheets, blankets and a wooden plank. The tub had also been lined with foil.


Police searching the Cowley Road house found unopened letters dating back to March 2013 and Pauline had last been seen alive by a nurse in 2012.


Doctors could not say why the women had died because they were so badly decomposed but said Caroline may have suffered a brain tumour.


Coroner Darren Salter recorded a verdict of natural causes for Caroline Jessett and and an open verdict for her mother.


He said it seemed Caroline - who had mental health problems - probably put her mother in the bath after her death and then struggled to cope.

 

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