Mother, 47, found dead with her disabled daughter, 18, had refused help before they were discovered lifeless at home, inquest hears

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A mother who was found dead with her 18-year-old disabled daughter had refused help from a number of agencies prior to their deaths, an inquest has heard.
Alphonsine Leuga, 47, and Loraine Choulla, 18, are believed to have died 'weeks to months' before their bodies were tragically discovered inside their home on Hartley Road in Radford, Nottingham, on May 21, 2024.
Ms Leuga, originally from Cameroon, is believed to have died of pneumonia of an uncertain cause, while her daughter's cause of death is set to be determined during an inquest.
Now, Nottingham Coroners' Court has heard how Ms Leuga refused help from members of the council who tried to access her property to assist with issues such as damp and mould for up to three years before her death.
The mother-of-two had originally relocated to the UK from Italy in 2016 with daughters Elvira Choulla and Loraine, who suffered from Down Syndrome and relied on her mother for food and hydration.
Elvira, who told Nottingham Coroners' Court that she had left the family home in 2022, initially said that she maintained a 'happy and healthy' relationship with her mother and would visit the pair up to four times a week.
However, the relationship 'began to deteriorate' after Ms Leuga took Loraine on a two-month holiday to Africa in July 2023 without informing Elvira.
The pair then began to speak 'less and less', with Elvira only seeing her mother and sister 'every few weeks'.
Having last seen Ms Leuga and Loraine in November 2023, Elvira told the court: 'I got a text from her in the last week of January (2024) when she asked me for money for food and taxis.
'I transferred her some money but, after this date, I asked her in late January if she and Loraine were OK and she replied with a thumbs up, nothing further was said.'
After being unable to make contact with her mother over the phone, Elvira said she tried to visit the home on multiple occasions in early 2024 - twice in February, once in March and once in April 2024.
On April 18, Elvira said she attended the address in the hopes of giving her mother money for a birthday cake for Loraine, who was set to turn 19 the following day.
There, she was met with an 'overgrown' front lawn alongside a house 'in darkness' with 'no signs of life'.
However, she was hesitant to report the pair as missing given that her mother would often travel for months at a time to Cameroon or Italy, bringing Loraine with her.
A close friend, who also visited the property, reported there being no signs of anyone in the home, but claimed to have seen the pair in the first few weeks of 2024.
Kathy Sheldon, assistant director of tenancy at Nottingham City Council, said that Ms Leuga had initially engaged with council services and attended maintenance appointments.
However, from January 2021, there were ongoing issues with the mother-of-two allowing access to the property 'on multiple occasions', including for reports of damp and mould, a leak and also an annual gas review.
In October 2023, Ms Leuga reported the heating had not been working since March 2023. Access was not provided for repairs, however, and a further appointment was cancelled by Ms Leuga.
The annual gas safety checks remained incomplete due to Ms Leuga repeatedly not giving access to her property and the gas was cut as a standard procedure in April 2023.
It was left to her to call the council and request for the cap to be removed at her convenience after four failed appointments.
The inquest was also told the mother was in arrears of rent, but deductions from her benefits, including Universal Credit, meant she was not at risk of eviction.
East Midlands Ambulance Service were also said to have missed an opportunity to attend the family's address following a 999 call from Ms Leuga.
She requested an ambulance, telling the call handler 'I need help to my daughter' and 'I'm in the bed, I feel cold and can't move' before cutting off the line, the inquest heard.
Pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton told the hearing that he could 'not rule out' that Alphonsine might have died on February 2, 2024 - the day she called 999.
Prior to Ms Leuge's death, she had been in 'critically unwell' in hospital between January 26 and 28, with low iron levels that required a blood transfusion of up to three litres. She was also suffering from a respiratory tract infection.
Both Ms Leuga and Loraine failed to attend 'multiple' doctors appointments from January 2024.
Describing her mother as 'truly loving', Elvira said that Ms Leuga 'took great care of Loraine and was very patient and understanding'.
The court heard that Loraine had several health conditions that included difficulty breathing due to her weight and epilepsy.
Primarily non-verbal, the teenager was also unable to walk short distances and eat on her own, making her 'entirely dependent' on her mother for her hydrational and nutritional needs.
Adding that Loraine 'was very friendly and lovely with everyone', Elvira added: 'She was able to say when she was hungry or needed to go to the toilet, but that was about it.
She always had positive energy around other people and never appeared sad.
'I loved Loraine and I could tell she loved me back. Loraine and I had an amazing relationship and she was and still is my best friend. She was always there for me.'
Between 2018 and 2022, Loraine attended Oak Field School a special needs school located in Bilborough. However, her mother eventually withdrew her attendance from the school due to feeling that she was being 'neglected'.
In a statement, the school's headteacher explained that Ms Leuga had told the establishment that she was taking Loraine to Cameroon for two months for her grandfather's funeral.
However, by October, the pair still had not returned. While she started attending school again in November 2022, the headteacher said that her attendance continued to 'dwindle', with the mother informing her teachers that 'Loraine didn't want to go to school'.
Eventually, her attendance dropped to just four per cent, with Loraine attending only eight days in one year.
The inquest heard that the school made a 'significant number' of attempts to engage with Ms Leuge but that she had wanted Loraine to attend Nottingham College.
The inquest continues.