Police are investigating the deaths of a disabled woman and her mother, whose bodies appear to have been lying undiscovered in their home for several weeks.
The bodies of Sam Wolf, 29, and her mother Stephania, 67, were finally discovered this week at their home in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire social services claim that both Sam – who was a wheelchair-user – and Stephania Wolf refused a series of offers of support over the last 12 years.
A council spokesman said social services carried out an assessment of Sam Wolf’s needs in August 1998, which resulted in “the provision of equipment and major adaptations to the property to provide disability access”, such as ramps and rails.
He said: “Following on from this, various offers of support offered by adult care services were declined.”
There was a further assessment of her needs in March 2006, after which the council offered to provide day services and “various other support”. The offer was again declined, he said.
Hertfordshire police said early post mortem results showed neither woman had received any external injuries or were victims of violence before they died.
They said the results of forensic tests to establish the causes of death were not expected for “a number of weeks” and it would be “impossible to speculate further on causes until these results have come through”.
4 August 2010
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