Joyce Carol Vincent (19 October 1965 – December 2003) was an English woman whose death went unnoticed for more than two years as her corpse lay undiscovered at her bedsit in

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. Prior to her death, she had cut off nearly all contact with those who knew her. She resigned from her job in 2001, and moved into a shelter for victims of

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partne ...

. Around the same time, she began to reduce contact with friends and family. She died sometime in December 2003. Her remains were discovered on 25 January 2006, with the cause of death believed to be either an

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

attack or complications from a recent

peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines ...

. Vincent's life and death were the topic of '' Dreams of a Life'', a 2011 docudrama film. The film and Vincent's life inspired musician

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...

's album '' Hand. Cannot. Erase.''.

Life

Joyce Vincent was born in London's Hammersmith area on 19 October 1965 and raised near Fulham Palace Road. Her parents had emigrated to London from Grenada; she was of Dougla descent. Her father, Lawrence, was a carpenter of

African descent Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

and her mother, Lyris, was of Indian descent. Following an operation, her mother died when Vincent was 11, and her four older sisters took responsibility for her upbringing. She had a strained relationship with her emotionally distant father, who she claimed had died in 2001 (he actually died in 2004, unaware that Vincent had predeceased him). She attended Melcombe Primary School and Fulham Gilliatt School for Girls, and left school at age sixteen with no qualifications. at SXSW Film Fest 2012-05-25 She had a wide circle of friends in the music industry and when she was 25, she attended and was video recorded in the backstage audience at the 1990 Wembley Concert, 'Nelson Mandela, International Tribute For a Free South Africa.' (BFI National Archive) Reportedly, she met Mandela at the concert and shook his hand. In 1985, Vincent began working as a secretary at OCL in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. She later worked at C.Itoh and Law Debenture before joining

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...

. She worked at Ernst & Young for four years in the treasury department, but resigned in March 2001 for unknown reasons. Shortly afterwards, Vincent spent some time in a domestic abuse shelter in

Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of ...

and worked as a cleaner in a

budget hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

. During this period, she became estranged from her family. A source involved in the investigation said: "She detached herself from her family but there was no bust up. They are a really nice family. We understand she was in a relationship and there was a history of domestic violence." It has been speculated that she was either ashamed to be a victim of domestic abuse or did not want to be found by her abuser. In February 2003, Vincent was moved into the bedsit flat above Wood Green Shopping City where she later died. The flat was owned by the Metropolitan Housing Trust and was used to house victims of abuse. In November 2003, after vomiting blood, she was hospitalised at North Middlesex Hospital for two days, due to a

Death

Vincent lived above the Shopping City in

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of London Borough of Haringey, Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater Lond ...

in North London in a Housing Trust flat. The cause of her death is unknown, as is the date, though it is speculated to be around December 2003. She suffered from

and had a peptic ulcer at the time of her death, so some have suggested an asthma attack or complications surrounding her recent

as a possible cause of death. Her remains were described as "mostly skeletal" according to the pathologist, and she was lying on her back, next to a shopping bag, surrounded by Christmas presents she had wrapped but never delivered. It is not known to whom the presents were addressed. The refrigerator in her bedsit contained food with 2003 expiry date labels. Neighbours had assumed the flat was unoccupied, and the odour of decomposing body tissue was attributed to nearby waste bins. The flat's windows did not allow direct sight to the inside. It was a noisy building which may explain why no one questioned the constant noise from the television, which remained turned on until she was discovered. Half of her rent was being automatically paid to Metropolitan Housing Trust by benefits agencies, leading officials to believe that she was still alive. With over two years' worth of unpaid rent totalling £2,400 that had accrued, housing officials decided to repossess the property. Her corpse was discovered on 25 January 2006 when bailiffs had forced entry into the flat. The television and heating were still running due to

debt forgiveness Debt relief or debt cancellation is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particu ...

and her bills being continually paid through automatic debit. The Metropolitan Housing Trust said that due to housing benefits covering the costs of rent for some period after Vincent's death,

arrears Arrears (or arrearage) is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due. The term is usually ...

had not been realised until much later. The Trust also said that no concerns were raised by neighbours or visitors at any time during the two years between her death and discovery of the body. Vincent's remains were too badly decomposed to conduct a full post-mortem, and she had to be identified through dental records. Police ruled death by natural causes as there was nothing to suggest foul play. The front door was double locked and there was no sign of a break-in. At the time of her death she had a boyfriend, but the police were unable to locate him. Her sisters had hired a private detective to look for her and contacted the Salvation Army, but these attempts proved unsuccessful. The detective found the house where Vincent was living, and the family wrote letters to her, receiving no response as she was already dead by this time. As a result, the family concluded she had deliberately broken ties with them. The ''Glasgow Herald'' reported,

"...her friends noted her as someone who fled at signs of trouble, who walked out of jobs if she clashed with a colleague, and who moved from one flat to the next all over London. She didn't answer the phone to her sister and didn't appear to have her own circle of friends, instead relying on the company of relative strangers who came with the package of a new boyfriend, a colleague, or flatmate."

In popular culture

''Dreams of a Life''

A film about Vincent, '' Dreams of a Life'', written and directed by Carol Morley with Zawe Ashton playing Vincent, was released in 2011. Morley tracked down and interviewed people who had known Vincent. They described a beautiful, intelligent, socially active woman, "upwardly mobile" and "a high flyer", who they assumed "was off somewhere having a better life than they were". During her life, she met figures such as Nelson Mandela,

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

, Gil Scott-Heron, and Betty Wright, spoke on the telephone with Isaac Hayes and had also been to dinner with Stevie Wonder.

Steven Wilson album

On 4 November 2014, English musician

announced that his fourth CD release, titled ''Hand. Cannot. Erase.'', would be based on the life of Vincent. According to Wilson, he was inspired to create a concept album after seeing ''Dreams of a Life''. From the book that accompanied the deluxe release of the album it is clear that the central character, 'H.', is a highly fictionalised version of Vincent: she is born on 8 October 1978 to an Italian mother and dies or disappears on 22 December 2014. Her only sister is 'J.', who was briefly fostered by her parents prior to their divorce. In the album and book the Christmas presents are intended for H.'s estranged brother and his family.Steven Wilson, Hand. Cannot. Erase. Deluxe edition with insert facsimile documents. Kscope, 2015

References