Cynthia Lewis’ mystery death

Published: 25 March, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a 24-year-old woman whose body was found locked in the bedroom of her Kentish Town flat.

Police discovered Cynthia Lewis on her bed in the Ospringe Road property in December, after she had failed to attend a number of appointments with mental health services.

An inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Thursday was unable to determine how Ms Lewis died, as her body had lay undiscovered for up to a week and had begun to decompose.

A Home Office pathologist ruled out death due to natural causes, and also revealed there were no marks indicating violence on Ms Lewis’s body. But while a toxicology found evidence of prescribed medication, it was unable to determine whether or not she had taken an overdose.

Coroner Andrew Reid said that the death was not suspicious, but said the cause “could not be ascertained” as Ms Lewis had been dead “for some time” when she was found.

The inquest was told Ms Lewis – who had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and post traumatic stress disorder – was in regular contact with mental health services in Camden, and had a history of self-harm and suicide attempts.

She had missed a number of appointments in the week before her death and was last seen on December 3 – six days before her body was found. 

The alarm was raised when she failed to attend an appointment with the Oscar Hill service – a separate mental health team who were in contact with Ms Lewis. 

Winifred Bolton, manager of Oscar Hill Service, headed an internal review into Ms Lewis’s care. She told the court she found “many areas of good practice,” but criticised the North Camden Crisis Team for failing to consider that Ms Lewis could be suicidal when she went missing.

Recording an open verdict, Dr Reid said there was no way of determining how Ms Lewis died.