Camden News - by TOM FOOT Published: 19 February 2009
Foul play ruled out in death of woman with 60 lacerations
A MURDER investigation was launched after a parishioner of a Kentish Town church was found with dozens of cuts and bruises across her naked body, an inquest heard. But detectives called off the search for a killer after a post mortem revealed Sanya Lloyd, 47, had died of chronic bronchial pneumonia in her Marsden Street bedsit, with no foul play involved.
St Pancras coroner Dr Andrew Reid said more than 60 lacerations and bruise marks on Ms Lloyd’s body may have been self-inflicted during “acute confusion” brought on by chronic bouts of the respiratory illness.
He said: “She died of bronchial pneumonia and had taken off her clothes to harm herself. But the unusual circumstances surrounding her death cannot be fully explained.”
The court heard that Ms Lloyd, a widow who regularly attended Saint Silas the Martyr in St Silas Place, Kentish Town, had experienced “adverse life experiences” while growing up in Serbia.
Ms Lloyd’s care worker Mary Bolan told the court her patient had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of self-harm. She alerted police after discovering Ms Lloyd had not responded to appointments at the Highgate Day Centre.
Detective Constable Julia Balfour said an investigation was called off after crime scene managers discovered that Ms Lloyd’s door had been double-locked from the inside and that none of Ms Lloyd’s possessions, including large amounts of cash, had been stolen.