Family of partially mummified woman thought she was alive for weeks, UK inquest hears

• The family of a woman who was dead at home in a partially mummified state believed she was alive for months.
• A UK court heard that the family was "utterly convinced" she was alive when paramedics found her body.

The family of a woman who lay dead in her home for weeks in a partially mummified state believed she was alive for months after she died, the BBC reports.

Paramedics found Rina Yasutake, 49, dead in bed on 25 September 2018. She was at her home, which she shared with her mother and two siblings.

An inquest into Yasutake's death heard that the family was "utterly convinced" she was alive when the paramedics found her body.

Detective Inspector Nichola Holden said, "they were at the time and for many months after."

The family, originally from Japan, who live in the picturesque country town of Helmsley, North Yorkshire, were initially charged with preventing a lawful and decent burial. However, this was stopped when it was concluded the family had a rare mental disorder, the BBC reports.

Craig Hassall KC, who was representing the family, described them as "very insular and isolated," with the court hearing that they spoke in their own dialect and had no means of communicating with the outside world. However, they spoke fluent Japanese and English.

Concerns about Yasutake's health were raised when her siblings bought a large quantity of surgical spirits over a few days.

A post-mortem examination did not determine the cause of death, with Coroner Jon Heath saying there did not appear to be any third-party involvement in Yasutake's death.

The BBC reported that Yasutake was an accomplished and talented student at the University of Cambridge but moved home after university and did not work.

They further report that her brother and sister told a psychiatrist that she stopped eating, grew weaker, and began to move less and less in 2018 when she died.