Inquest hears isolated Japanese family kept sister’s body at home

Coroner gives open verdict after cause of 49-year-old’s death undetermined following discovery of partially-mummified body

A Japanese woman living an isolated, insular life with her brother, sister and mother in North Yorkshire lay dead for weeks while her family bought surgical spirit, convinced she was still alive.

An inquest on Friday heard that the partially-mummified body of 49-year-old Rina Yasutake was found on a mattress in her home in Helmsley on 25 September 2018.