Child Lived With Her Dead Mother's Corpse For 'At Least Three Days'

A young girl lived alone with her mother's corpse for 'at least three days'.

Twenty-seven-year-old Natasja Nel was found 'black and decomposing' in her flat after a relative came to check on the pair. Natasja hadn't answered the phone in two days.

Her three-year-old daughter told the relative: "Mummy was sleeping and didn't want to wake up".

The incident took place in the Sinoville area of the South African capital of Pretoria - according to The Mirror. Police have apparently said that the child is unharmed, despite the fact she was alone for three days.

According to local media, a neighbour said: "A family member started to suspect something was wrong after she had not heard from Natasja.

"She drove to her house and found the body in one of the rooms.

"Her skin had apparently already turned black, a sign that the body was starting to decompose."

They added that the toddler was confused: "She could not understand what was going on and just said, 'Mummy is sleeping. She does not want to wake up'."

Police believe that Natasja may have died after suffering from an epileptic fit, however, a post-mortem will reveal the exact cause of death.

Featured credit image: CEN

Topics: Death, DIED, Sleeping, House, Dead

Mel Ramsay

Mel Ramsay has been a Senior Journalist for Tyla and LADbible since 2015. She started her career writing obituaries and funeral guides online. Since then, her work has been published in a wide variety of national and local news sites. She is part of the BBC's Generation project and has spoken about young people, politics and mental health on television, radio and online. Contact her - [email protected]

@melramsay_