From the archive: ‘Death in the Reptile House’

A family left their grandmother’s body in their living room for three days after she died with an assortment of reptiles including a 12ft python.

Eizabeth Bozzett, 71, died after a series of fights with her daughter Seila Hammond, who was convinced her mother did not love her.

They shared their home in Cedar Avenue, Twickenham with three other family members collection of pets including a another four foot long snake and four tarantula spiders.

Hammond, 41, left it for three days before calling her family doctor, fearing she would be accused of murder.

She had her family just carried on as normal in the ‘Reptile House’ as if nothing had happened.

When police arrived at the house they found the body, covered with three blankets and a sheet of plastic.

The coverings were weighed down by two stools, and the plastic was taped to the radiator which was switched on to keep the temperature in the room high for the family’s reptile menagerie.

The body was surrounded by air fresheners and a bowl of Dettol to in an attempt to disguise the smell.

Mrs Bozzett had a broken breast bone, six broken ribs and three broken bones in her larynx but degree of decomposition was such that four pathologists who examined the body were unable to ascertain the cause of death.

Charges against Hammond of murder and causing grievous bodily harm were dropped after the court heard it was impossible to tell whether her mother’s injuries were caused before or after death.

Hammond admitted guilty to causing her mother actual bodily harm.

Judge Gerald Butler sentenced her to a total of six months jail, four months for actual bodily harm plus two months of a suspended sentence imposed last year for shoplifting.

David Paget, prosecuting, told the court there had been ‘numerous’ fights in the three weeks Mrs Bozzett had stayed with her daughter’s family.

Hammond had put her arms around her mother’s throat on several occasions, and once Mrs Bozzett fell down the stairs, he added.

‘During the arguments, Hammond) would shake her mother in order to get her to answer because she was stubborn and frequently wouldn’t,’ said Mr Paget.

‘Once their heads clashed and Hammond’s brow hit her mother on her nose.

‘She had accidentally fallen on her mother on one occasion. Then
her mother had started to feel unwell.

The family took her temperature with a thermometer from their fish tank
although it was down to 89 degrees, no medical help was sought until three days after Mrs Bozzett died.

Hammond lived in the house with her disabled husband and two daughters aged 22, and 17.

Patrick Back, defending, said of Hammond: ‘She formed a childish view that her mother did not love her and she felt rejected.

‘Nothing in this family history follows any sort of logical progression.

‘It is the most doomed family you can possibly imagine. They were
looking down a long dark blind alley, living in near hatred.

Hammond was being treated by a psychiatrist and her and her daughters left numerous notebooks around the house in which they wrote their feelings for each other.

Judge Butler told Hammond: ‘Your hatred for your mother drove you to carry out wholly inexcusable acts.

As sentence was passed, Hammond collapsed in the dock sobbing: ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’