UK - Isabel Cook, found dead Camden September 2005 - new evidence found Jan 2026

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What happened to Isabel? Birth certificate of mystery death woman ‘found in shaman swindler's flat'

New questions asked over Juliette D'Souza fraud case

www.camdennewjournal.co.uk

'A “WITCH doctor” who conned hundreds of thousands of pounds out of vulnerable people with promises of healing has been linked for the first time to the mystery of a young woman found dead in Belsize Park.

The connection between Juliette D’Souza, who was jailed for fraud in 2014, and Isabel Cook was made in the BBC documentary The Million Pound Shaman Scam – following the investigations of Sunday Times journalist Tim Rayment.

Ms Cook’s death in September 2005 had been left in the unexplained files at the Met Police and coroner’s court archives despite the unusual circumstances in which she was discovered.

Her throat was bruised, but a pathologist and then a coroner ruled this was due to a thyroid issue and hypothermia.

A fake passport and £2,500 in cash was found nearby in Ms Cook’s home in the low-rise Chalcot’s Lodge in Adelaide Road.

Documents recovered by police suggested she had herself been living under a different name – that of “Kathryn Radford”.

While there is no suggestion that Ms D’Souza was responsible for her death, it has now been revealed Ms Cook’s birth certificate was found in the fraudster’s flat in Willoughby Road, Hampstead, and clues suggest she may have been able to sell her identity to an unnamed woman trying to reach the United Kingdom.'

This article states that Isabel was found dead with a bruised neck and her shirt pulled down to expose her breasts. Shockingly, the police are also quoted as saying:

'Detective Inspector Adrian Lewis told an inquest in 2014: “The landlord found the body of Ms Cook lying on her back. All the windows were shut and there was no sign of a disturbance. Her top had been pulled down exposing her breasts.

“We will never get to the bottom of it. It was a very strange case. She may have been intending to go away because she owed the landlord money.”'

Doesn't inspire confidence that the investigation was as thorough as it might have been?!

 

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Can't find any reference to her death on newspapers.com. Seems like she never even made the papers back in 2005

What a sad story.

Here's an article in the Sun about D'Souza, which mentioned the friend Sylvia Eaves. It's behind a paywall. Can provide extracts if anyone is interested. No mention of Isabel, though from reading this it seems likely she was a client of an Osteopath who recommended her to D'Souza. And this same osteopath was leasing properties on behalf of Juliette, there is a mention of a landlord in both the Sun article and the CNJ above, could be the same person?

How UK's worst EVER con-woman posed as a witch doctor & stole £3m from the sick

DEEP in the South American jungle, a shaman in ceremonial robes whispered incantations, a bundle of smoking herbs in one hand and a wad of cash in the other. The money had been sent from the UK by …

www.thesun.co.uk

And there's been a podcast made. I will listen to see if Isabel is mentioned.

Global launches Filthy Ritual - a new true-crime podcast about one of the most prolific fraudsters in British history | Global

Global launches Filthy Ritual - a new true-crime podcast about one of the most prolific fraudsters in British history All episodes available on Global

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