Woman "lay dead in toilet for days" before being found, daughter claims
A woman lay dead in a restaurant toilet for three days before anyone noticed, her heartbroken daughter has claimed. Jade Casey, 27, says her mum Sabrina Marlynn Lyttle, 47, was found dead at The Gurkha Buffet Restaurant, Hotel and Bar in Blackpool, Lancs.
Jade and Sabrina's mum Christine, 68, say they are unsure why she went into the toilet but said nobody from the restaurant realised that she was in there for three days. She says she now feels "heartbroken" knowing that her mum was in the disabled toilet, while people were eating and drinking.
However staff have subsequently denied the allegations in a lengthy statement.
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Jade said: "The police have told us that customers were complaining that they couldn't get into the toilet, but they assumed something had happened with the lock. They then opened up the disabled toilet and found her on the Saturday morning.
"I'm angry because she could have been found sooner, they should have done the usual toilet checks. It's heartbreaking because we know she was left in the cold, on her own. I know she was dead but it's the fact she was there while people were eating and drinking. We don't know the cause of death yet but there's part of us that thought she might have been struggling and needed help and then could have been saved."
Jade said that CCTV footage showed Sabrina, of Blackpool, Lancs., entering the restaurant on November 28 last year and going into the disabled toilet. She said that they "aren't sure" why she decided to go into the restaurant but police said that there were no drugs at the scene.
Jade said: "There wasn't any drugs at the scene and CCTV footage showed her entering the building on the Thursday. We think she broke into the disabled toilet - we think she picked the lock to get in so she didn't have to ask for a key.
"We aren't sure of the circumstances of why she went in, it could have been to get warm because she had been released from prison the day before. We really aren't sure but there wasn't any drugs at the scene."
Jade, of Fleetwood, Lancs., has also paid tribute to her mum - describing her as a "really nice person" who was "funny and kind." She said: "She suffered with addiction and she was in and out of homeless for the last 25 years but she was a really nice person. "She was funny and she was kind."
A Lancashire Police spokesperson said: "We were called at shortly after 1pm on Saturday, November 30th to a report of a sudden death at an address on Waterloo Road in Blackpool. Officers attended and sadly the body of a woman in her 40s was found dead inside the address.
"Our thoughts are with her loved ones at this time. The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for HM Coroner."
The Gurkha Buffet Restaurant, Hotel and Bar have been contacted for a comment.
Update: The Ghurka Buffet have subsequently released the following statement.
"On Thursday 28th November 2024 at 8.34pm, a non-customer member of the public entered the premises and asked to use the toilets.
"As the restaurant had already closed for the evening, directions to the pub toilets, which are in a separate area of the building, were given. Staff in the pub provided further directions to the general pub toilets and did not issue access to the disabled toilet.
"Access to the separate and locked disabled toilet is gained via staff as the facility cannot be opened with a RADAR key. The male and female toilets are deep-cleaned every morning and checked throughout the day, with the disabled toilet checked after every authorised use and cleaned as required, due to infrequent use.
"Access to the disabled toilet was not requested until Friday evening around 10pm. The staff with the assistance of other helpful pub customers were unable to unlock the door and as access had not been granted for the past 24 hours, it was reported as a maintenance issue to management.
"The following day on Saturday before opening, management was unable to gain access using all secure keys and removing the locking mechanism before alerting the police. We are aware of public posts that are full of information that is not correct, and we believe the speculations have not contributed positively to anyone affected, including the grieving family, the dedicated Gurkha staff and the community of Blackpool. We are aware of an ongoing inquest and will not be making any further public comments."