A woman discovered a corpse upstairs after blood d
A woman discovered a corpse upstairs after blood dripped through her ceiling in a scene straight from a horror film – on September 11, an inquest heard.
Dionne Ashley realised something was wrong when she was alerted to a bad smell at her south London home.
As she went in her bedroom she saw blood dripping onto her dresser.
She ran to the flat upstairs and with police found the lifeless body of Mark Skinner, 31, a charity volunteer, slumped by his bed.
It also emerged that some time after his death, a ghoulish burglar may have stolen jewellery and cash from the dead man’s flat at (94J) Hither Green Lane, Lewisham.
In a statement read to Southwark Coroner’s Court Miss Ashley told how she made the discovery on September 11 after getting home at 6pm.
‘I noticed a bad smell in the flat.
It thought it was something in the bin.
‘I emptied it and sprayed air freshener.
I went in my bedroom and it was worse.
‘I saw red liquid dripping through the ceiling, it was dripping on my dresser.
‘I went to the bathroom and saw it was a red brown colour and thought it was blood.
‘
She then called police and PC David Rush broke the door down.
He found Mr Skinner’s body on the floor next to his bed.
A vacuum cleaner had toppled onto him.
‘From the position of the body I would say he had been in bed and for whatever reason had rolled out,’ said Pc Rush.
‘There was quite a lot of body fluids there.
‘
Pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan Earl explained that the corpse had rapidly decomposed within around two days.
‘Death can result in the production of fluids of various colours which may appear to be blood but which do not indicate a traumatic death,’ the doctor said.
Dr Fegan Earl told the inquest that Mr Skinner, a schizophrenic, had been taking his medication, but otherwise no drugs or alcohol were detected in Mr Skinner’s body.
The cause of death was unascertained.
A report from Dr Elizabeth Parker, a psychiatrist, said Mr Skinner ‘was a very popular, likeable young man whose death has caused a great deal of distress to those who knew him.
‘
He had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia since October 1995.
His symptoms consisted of hearing voices and persecutory beliefs.
He had volunteered for local charities as a fundraiser.
Tracy Sarcone said her brother had at least pnd stlg 200 when she saw him a few days before his death, as he had given some money to one of her children to buy some sweets.
She was concerned that a gold sovereign ring, a gold bracelet and gold choker were missing, as well as his wallet.
But police said there was no sign of forced entry at the time although the missing property was never found.
Coroner Selena Lynch said: ‘It is a sad fact of life there are people who prey on the possessions of people who have died and it’s very disturbing for their families.
‘Someone has removed items knowing he’s died.
‘ She said it was open for the family to report burglary to the police.
Miss Lynch said she suspected Mr Skinner’s death was due to natural causes.
‘Sadly young fit people suffering from schizophrenia to die for an unexplained reason.
That would be my suspicion.
‘
Verdict: Open.
ends
