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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Mark Brown North of England correspondent

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

Photo issued by North Yorkshire Police of Rina Yasutake, 49
An open verdict was given at the inquest into the death of Rina Yasutake, 49. A judge in 2021 ruled that her siblings and mother would not face trial for preventing lawful burial. Photograph: PA Media

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.

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