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05/04/2013
Woman Lay Dead Under Rubbish For 19 Months
A court has heard how the body of a County Antrim woman lay undiscovered under six feet of bin bags for 19 months.
Julie Ann Watson, originally from Ballycregagh, was identified only through her skeletal remains, which were discovered in the backyard of a derelict property in Belfast two years ago.
DNA samples were taken from her spine, but decomposition was so bad no cause of death could be identified.
Coroner Jim Kitson told the court: "It goes without saying this is a desperately sad and tragic case."
He added: "It is also in some ways shocking that the body of a young woman of some 37 years of age can lie undiscovered for a period of 19 months."
The rear of the property on Donegall Avenue is said to have been common for fly-tipping.
Miss Watson's body was found by construction workers in April 2011, after a neighbour rang Belfast City Council to complain about a heap of rubbish which had built up.
She had suffered from alcohol addiction and poor mental health, the court heard. All three of her children had been taken away by social services.
The pathologist has been unable to definitively determine a cause of death.
(IT/CD)
Julie Ann Watson, originally from Ballycregagh, was identified only through her skeletal remains, which were discovered in the backyard of a derelict property in Belfast two years ago.
DNA samples were taken from her spine, but decomposition was so bad no cause of death could be identified.
Coroner Jim Kitson told the court: "It goes without saying this is a desperately sad and tragic case."
He added: "It is also in some ways shocking that the body of a young woman of some 37 years of age can lie undiscovered for a period of 19 months."
The rear of the property on Donegall Avenue is said to have been common for fly-tipping.
Miss Watson's body was found by construction workers in April 2011, after a neighbour rang Belfast City Council to complain about a heap of rubbish which had built up.
She had suffered from alcohol addiction and poor mental health, the court heard. All three of her children had been taken away by social services.
The pathologist has been unable to definitively determine a cause of death.
(IT/CD)
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