A gas engineer could provide answers into what happened to a woman who was found in a "mummified almost skeletal state" in her flat.
Laura Winham, 38, had been lying dead in her home for nearly four years after no one from social services or her apparent support network had checked on her well-being in years.
It is believed she died in November 2017, as the markings she had made on her calendar stopped and it was shortly after she had written ‘I need help’.
However, Laura's gas and electric bills continued to be paid through housing benefits even after she had died and an annual gas safety check had been registered in January 2018.
Her rent continued to be paid through housing benefits, and a gas safety check was even registered as having been carried out by contractors in January 2018.
During a pre-inquest review of Laura's death today at Surrey Coroner's Court, her family raised concerns about signatures on a gas safety certificate.
Laura's body was found by her brother Roy in May 2021 after he peered through the letterbox to find see what appeared to be a foot under a blanket.
Kate O'Raghallaigh, representing Laura's family, told the hearing today that the signature provided on the certificate had irregularities when compared with previous examples of Laura's signature.
She told the coroner Dr Karen Henderson that Mears Ltd, a contractor, provided a signed gas safety certificate with the signature purporting to be that of Laura which did not seem to match other examples of her signatures.
The lawyer added: "I would briefly raise the question of the gas engineer.
"It may be that the court will undertake further inquiries over whether he can be located because in one version of events, he was the last person to see Laura Winham alive.
"It certainly remains, at the very least, a very important line of inquiry."
The inquest heard that efforts were being made to try to track down the gas employee to see if they can narrow down the timeframe of Laura's death.
Laura had schizophrenia and it had caused her to believe her family would harm her, the family previously said.
They added it had left them to make the heartbreaking decision to step back and respect her wishes, believing she would be cared for by local adult care services and mental health teams in Woking, Surrey.
Surrey Police said they attended and found a body in the flat in Woking. They said no one else was involved.
The last known food shop Laura did was in September 2017, the hearing was told.
The exact date of Laura's death is unknown, the inquest heard.
Katie Ayers, representing the county council, said the authority accepts a care assessment for Laura should have been done after the police visit.
"What Surrey County Council has accepted is that a section nine check should have been completed but it was not," she said.
She added: "There may have been a risk in relation to malnutrition. At this stage that would seem to be speculative."
A cause of death has yet to be determined, which Ms O'Raghallaigh described as a "very unusual factor in this case".
Laura's sister Nicky previously said: "Everybody who was in contact with Laura and had a duty to her at some stage simply wiped their hands of her and forgot her. She was abandoned and left to die."
In October 2017, a month before it is thought Laura died, Surrey Police reported concerns to the Surrey County Council after visiting.
The officers, who are also thought to have been the last to see Laura alive, said she had been self-neglecting, had little food and appeared unaware of how to access local services for help.
They also told the council her phone was not working.
However, the adult social care teams tried to call her, and then simply wrote to her providing details of local food banks and contact details for support teams.
When they did not receive a response, her case was reportedly closed in the system without any contact being made.
When no response was forthcoming, her case was closed on the system after two weeks, without any contact ever being made.
It is believed Laura died a few weeks later in November 2017, as the markings she had made on her calendar stopped – shortly after she had written ‘I need help’.
She was identified by her dental records, but the cause of her death was unestablished.
Nicky added: "The fact that she was dead for so long suggests failures all round to meet her basic human needs.
“We always hoped she would get better with professional help and that one day our contact would resume. We never believed for one second, we would end up finding her dead on her floor having laid there for so long without anyone knowing."
Statements from both Surrey County Council and Woking Borough Council offered their "heartfelt" and "deepest" condolences to Laura's family and said they would continue to support the coroner with their inquiries and the inquest process.
Another pre-inquest review will take place at Surrey Coroners' Court on March 15.
The Mirror contact Surrey Police for a comment on the latest development.
