'Mummy' body had been dead for weeks, inquest told

THE mummified body of a retired RAF special ops agent was found in the chair where it had lain for weeks, an inquest heard.

Reclusive Kenneth Hainsworth (89) was found by police at his Hellaby home after a neighbour alerted them.

Rotherham Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday that the “mummified” state of his body suggested that it had sat undiscovered for several weeks.

The 89-year-old, who served in the Second World War, was discovered on July 3 after police forced their way into the house and found him in his chair with the television still on.

Pathologist Dr Len Harvey, who carried out a postmortem three days later, described the pensioner’s body as resembling a “mummy in a museum.”

He added: “It had been heavily decomposed.

“Even the internal organs were impossible to make out and had deteriorated to such an extent that they resembled a leathery type of tissue.

Death of a very private person: Interview with the daughter Mr Hainsworth hadn't see for 25 years. SEE THIS WEEK'S ADVERTISER.

“This level of decomposition takes weeks to set in.”

Police were called to Mr Hainsworth’s home on Bawtry Road, Hellaby, after a neighbour out gardening noticed water coming from a pipe at the back of the property.

The water was coming from a tap that had been left running in the kitchen.

The Rotherham Coroner, Ms Nicola Mundy, recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.

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