UK - Adult body found, N.Yorkshire, reclusive family, Sept 2018 - Rina Yasutake

[JennyJukes]

“Sean Morris, the recorder of York, decided on Tuesday that the charges – preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body without lawful excuse – should remain on file. “These three defendants suffer from an extremely rare mental affliction which has created a unique situation for the criminal courts,” he said.”


“A joint statement from North Yorkshire police and the CPS described the matter as a “very complex, sensitive and sad case””


2 quotes above, taken from the report in the Guardian.

What an unusual & intriguing case….not least because I live near Helmsley in North Yorkshire.

Sounds like a sensible decision not to prosecute the family….( though I’d love to know more)

I wonder if the ‘extremely rare mental affliction’ affecting the 3 remaining family members was ‘ Folie á trois’, a shared delusional disorder.

Full marks to the pharmacist who alerted police with his/her suspicions after detecting the odour of decomposition on his customers!

One article I read said it was builders reroofing the tiles that smelled something and reported it, but another said the pharmacist.

Interesting about shared delusional disorder. It looks like the risk factors are social isolation and above average IQ for women. Sounds like the family could fit the bill. It seemed they were living together, 1 man and 3 women, Rina was said to be intelligent but quiet. They allegedly lived in that property for 20 years but still required an interpreter when being questioned, so may not have integrated into the community. The wiki on shared delusional disorder (Folie à deux - Wikipedia) mentions Ursula and Sabina Eriksson, the Swedish twins who were running across a motorway in the UK, one later stabbed a man to death before jumping from a bridge. That then reminded me of the silent twins Jennifer and June Gibbons

Before I saw your comment, when I read about the "rare condition" I immediately had thought of Cotards Syndrome, where people believe they're dead. I wondered if perhaps her death had triggered them into also thinking they were dead and that it was pointless to report it. But looking at the risk factors of shared delusion and the fact they required an interpreter despite at least 20 years in the country, they most likely didn't report it a) because of their disorder and/or b) they lacked the skills and integration into the community to report it.

Interesting

 

[AcbMurders]

Family spared trial over mummified remains of woman found on mattress

Another article from the York Press court reporter 'Unique' end to case of family accused of keeping corpse in house

I wonder if there’s also something related to Japanese culture / dealing with death etc. I don’t know enough about it, but will ask a friend. Might she have committed suicide and the family couldn’t deal with it? It just seems odd that all the other “three defendants suffer from a very extreme and rare mental affliction” . It’s worrying to think that there used to be a little girl living there who hasn’t been seen in years … I really hope NYP have got to the bottom of it…

 

[AcbMurders]

Family of woman found mummified continued to believe she was alive for months

The reclusive family of a woman whose partially-mummified body was found in their home continued to believe she was alive for months after she died,…

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

Rina Yasutake: Family thought mummified woman was still alive

Rina Yasutake's mummified body was found in a house she shared with her mother and siblings.

www.bbc.co.uk