How could a young woman lie dead and undiscovered for three years?

ON JANUARY 25, 2006, officials from a north London housing association repossessing a bedsit in Wood Green owing to rent arrears made a grim discovery.

Lying on the sofa was the skeleton of a 38-year-old woman who had been dead almost three years.

In a corner of the room the television set was still on and a small pile of Christmas presents lay on the floor. Washing up was heaped in the kitchen sink and a mountain of post lay behind the front door. Food in the refrigerator was marked with 2003 expiry dates.