A man had been living with the remains of his ex-girlfriend for years until alarm bells started going off and officials began to search for her.
Keep reading to learn more.
51-year-old Jamie Stevens and his ex-girlfriend Anouska Sites were found by officials in a scene they described later to the court.
Exeter Crown Court heard the last known sighting of Ms Sites in May 2022. She was officially reported missing to the police in April 2023, almost a year after her last known whereabouts.
“Inquiries confirmed she had last been seen by police in May the previous year. Unfortunately, due to her vulnerabilities, including mental health problems and addictions, she had been in fairly regular contact with the police,” Hollie Gilbery, the prosecutor on the case, told the court.
This year, in April, Stevens was contacted by officials as he was a known former partner of Sites.
Police contacted him again on May 27 and were told that he was no longer living in the flat and hence officers decided to pay a visit and gain entry of the premises. What they later described of the property located in Devon, UK was horrific.
“The officers who attended described the flat as being like that of a hoarder with rubbish, faeces and bottled urine scattered throughout the property,” Ms Gilbery shared with the court.
“Police started to search the flat, and upon lifting a blanket in the living area, they discovered a skeletal arm and hand,” she described the scene.
“Officers did notice there were various fragranced items scattered around the lounge, inferring they must have been to mask any smells,” she ended.
Stevens had been in a relationship with Sites from 2011 to 2014. He was arrested and upon arrest he informed police that it was indeed her body.
“He explained she had come to his flat around January 2023 asking if she could stay the night,” the prosecutor said of what the police had learned. “He went to his own bed and left her sleeping in the living room.
“The next day, he had gone out, returning at about 11.30pm, assuming that Ms Sites would have left, but instead he found her on the sofa. He explained he threw a blanket over her body and continued to live in his bedroom and never really returned to the lounge.”
Steven pleaded guilty to the charges of preventing a lawful burial and preventing the course of justice. He now faces 14 months of jail time.
This is the second charge for him for lying to the police in a witness statement about Ms Sites.
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