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Inquest Returns Open Verdict in Case of 23-Year-Old Found Mummified in Bolton Flat

Investigators say the evidence indicates she likely died in summer 2024, leaving the exact cause unresolved.

Overview

  • Police found Charlotte Leader, 23, under her duvet during a welfare check on August 6, 2025, after the housing provider could not gain access for a utility inspection.
  • Assistant Coroner Stephen Teasdale concluded the inquest with an open verdict due to insufficient evidence to determine how she died.
  • Pathologist Dr Andrew Coates testified her remains were mummified and said such a state could develop over roughly a year, complicating post-mortem analysis.
  • Detectives reported no illicit drugs and no indications she intended to take her own life, describing the flat as sparsely furnished and immaculately clean.
  • Police said the only messages on her phone were with ChatGPT, with a final exchange dated July 30, 2024, and they noted fridge items dated July 2024 and a large stack of unopened letters.