A MUM who was found dead having been eaten by her two pet sausage dogs has been pictured for the first time.
Jemma Hart, 45, had not been seen for a month when her body was found partially mauled by the dachshunds at her home in Swindon.
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Worried neighbours had noticed her absence and reported their concerns to police in January 2024.
Her neighbour Lorraine told MailOnline that Jemma had “mental health problems” and that she was a “troubled soul”.
She explained that she could hear the dogs barking, which was why she went to knock on her door.
However, when she tried to open the door using the key Jemma had given her, she couldn’t unlock it as there was another key inside the lock.
Lorraine said: “I went home and I ummed and ahhed.
“Then I thought I’ll ask the police to make a welfare check and that’s when they found her.”
She explained Jemma had split from a long-term boyfriend in the weeks running up to her death during the 2023 Christmas period.
Following what Lorraine called an acrimonious split with her boyfriend, Jemma was then found partially eaten by her two starving dachshunds in late January 2024.
Jemma’s son described the dogs as “her life” during an inquest into her death this month.
He also shared a moving tribute to Jemma in a post on Facebook last year, saying: “To all Jems friends.
“After spending the last couple of weeks to even process what we’re about to share, it’s with great sadness to say that my beautiful mum Jemma passed away January 29th unexpectedly and I wanted to inform you all.”
At the inquest this year, he said: “She’d had dogs in the past but in 2022 she got a dachshund called Frankie and a year later she got another one called Millie.
“Her house backed onto Lydiard Park where she regularly walked her dogs, and the dogs were her life.”
Coroner Ian Singleton said: “On January 29, Wiltshire Police was contacted by Jemma’s neighbours with concerns that they hadn’t seen her since Christmas.
“Officers went to her home and found her deceased in the living room.
“One of her dogs was also found dead at the scene and the other was in a distressed condition.”
Help for mental health
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support.
The following are free to contact and confidential:
Mind, www.mind.org, provide information about types of mental health problems and where to get help for them. Call the infoline on 0300 123 3393 (UK landline calls are charged at local rates, and charges from mobile phones will vary).
YoungMinds run a free, confidential parents helpline on 0808 802 5544 for parents or carers worried about how a child or young person is feeling or behaving. The website has a chat option too.
Rethink Mental Illness, www.rethink.org, gives advice and information service offers practical advice on a wide range of topics such as The Mental Health Act, social care, welfare benefits, and carers rights. Use its website or call 0300 5000 927 (calls are charged at your local rate).
Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk, is the a mental health initiative spearheaded by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales.
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