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Body of second Peabody resident went undiscovered for months
The body of a second Peabody resident was left undiscovered at his London home for months before police eventually broke into the flat in July, Inside Housing has learned.
Terry Watkins was found dead by police in his housing association flat in Wild Street, Westminster, London, on Monday 19 July 2021 after residents claimed that concerns had been raised about his welfare for months before.
Peabody said it was “difficult to see how it would have known about the situation” and that it was contacted “for the first time” by a resident on the day his body was found by the police.
Mr Watkins, or ‘Taffy’ as he was known to his neighbours, was in his 60s.
It came after neighbours had been questioning Mr Watkins’ welfare after they had not seen him for several months, while others reported a strong odour coming from his flat.
One resident said he could have been left there for nearly a year, with the last sighting of Mr Watkins by residents coming 11 months before.
The revelations about the discovery come two weeks after another Peabody resident was found in her flat after being dead in her home for potentially two years.
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WhatsApp messages between residents in the block showed them discussing a “very unpleasant” smell filling the block after he was found.
One resident, Ray O’Sullivan, said the smell might have gone unnoticed before Mr Watkins was discovered because other problems with the block meant strange smells were not uncommon.
It is not yet clear how long he had been left in the flat, but one resident messaged on the day he was found that she used to see him pass her kitchen window “once or twice every single day” but had not seen him in “months and months, possibly not since last year [2020]”.
Responding to this, Peabody said that the estate is “intensively managed” as it serves as a base and head office for its caretakers and estate services colleagues, even during the coronavirus lockdowns.
It added that gas safety checks inside the property had been completed in October 2020 and the block was inspected regularly, “with no reports of anything that might trigger concerns”.
Residents claimed that by the end of March they had become so concerned about Mr Watkins that the police were called to complete a welfare check.
The police have been unable to confirm that officers attended the address during that month, but messages sent in a WhatsApp group, shared with Inside Housing, showed one resident said: “Police came by today but was a check on Taffy.”
Mr O’Sullivan said: “They [the police] came by but didn’t go in or sniff through the letterbox as they would have been able to smell something was wrong and see all the flies; there was post from Christmas stacked up on the floor and more post underneath that.”
The 35-year-old said he had raised concerns about Mr Watkins’ welfare with Peabody at the start of the pandemic, after the association sent out a leaflet outlining how it was going to support residents during the lockdown. He was believed to still be alive at this point.
Mr O’Sullivan said he made repeated calls to Peabody over several months only to be told that a neighbourhood manager had been out to check on him.
He added that after Mr Watkins was found, he called Peabody to complain about the lack of checks but was told a visit “was logged on the system”.
Emails from February this year shared with Inside Housing showed a Peabody area manager contacting Mr O’Sullivan to “discuss the concerns that you have raised about the passing of your neighbour Mr Watkins”.
Ashling Fox, chief operating officer at Peabody, said: “It is terribly sad when someone dies alone at home, particularly if they have no next of kin or anyone to raise the alarm. We work very closely with residents at Wild Street, and looking at all the circumstances of this case, it is difficult to see how we could have known about the situation.”
In the days after the body was found, residents continued to discuss the association’s response in their WhatsApp group.
One noticed that the windows on Mr Watkins flat had “been left open by the people that went in, obviously to air the place”.
A 25-year-old resident, who preferred not to be named, told Inside Housing that after clearing out the home they had just left a padlock on it for a number of months before new tenants moved in.
The resident said: “Nobody has said anything about what has happened. They just cleaned and left the window open and someone else has moved in after about six months.”
Another resident in her 40s said she felt guilty because she could have checked on him more.
“It’s really sad. It’s a life, there needs to be more consideration for people. It plays on your mind,” she said.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Police were called on Monday 19 July 2021 to a concern for welfare of a man who lived at the address.
“Officers attended and forced entry. A man, aged in his 60s, was found deceased inside.
“The death was not treated as suspicious and a file was passed to the coroner.”
The Westminster Coroner’s Court said there was no inquest because Mr Watkins “died of a natural cause” and the case was closed as a result.
The story has emerged just two weeks after prior revelations about a dead body being left undiscovered in another one of Peabody’s properties.
Police also forced their way into another flat in Peckham, south London, on Friday 18 February after concerns had been raised about a 61-year-old woman’s welfare.
Sheila Seleoane was found in her housing association flat at Lords Court after her body was left undiscovered for two years.
Peabody chief Ian McDermott has promised to launch a fully transparent investigation into “what went wrong”.
Ms Fox said: “While the circumstances are very different to the case of Sheila Seleoane, we are requesting that it be included as part of the independent review. This is a close, strong community and we’re grateful to residents for their support locally.”
