Neglect victim Annie Smith could have lived ‘much fuller’ life if she was involved in the community at a young age, friend tells Royal Commission

A lifelong friend of Annie Smith has told a Royal Commission the neglect victim could have lived a “much fuller” life had things been different when she was younger.

Neglect victim Ann Marie “Annie” Smith, who was left to die in squalid conditions and isolated at her home, could have lived a “much fuller” life if she’d been involved in the community at a young age, a lifelong friend says.

In a statement read to the royal commission into people with a disability, the friend who identified herself only as Brooke said she wished Ms Smith had been more connected with her friends and the wider community.

“By rarely leaving the house and not pursuing interests, hobbies or work, the possibilities for her life and her connections with people were very restricted,” she said.

“I feel that she may have had a much fuller life if she’d been more strongly encouraged to get out into the community at a younger age.”

Brooke said Annie Smith was loved by her family. Picture: Supplied

Annie Smith at school, where she met her friend, Brooke. Picture: Supplied

Pictures of Annie Smith, that have not been previously released to the public, were displayed at the Royal Commission on Wednesday. Picture: Supplied

Ms Smith, 54, who had cerebral palsy, died in April last year of severe septic shock, multi-organ failure, pressure sores and malnutrition.

Police said she died in “disgusting and degrading” circumstances, and spent most of the year leading up to her death living in putrid conditions in a woven cane chair in the family room of her home at Kensington Park.

Ms Smith’s sole carer for several years, Rosemary Maione, 69, has been charged with manslaughter.

Her death sparked a number of investigations into her care and broader failings within the disability sector.

In the statement, read to the commission as photos of Ms Smith were displayed, Brooke said the pair met when they attended primary school together.

Annie Smith was 54 when she died last year. Her friend, Brooke, shed further light on her life in a statement to the Royal Commission. Picture: Supplied

Brooke remembered Annie Smith as a caring person. Picture: Supplied

They remained close throughout school and beyond, but Brooke said Ms Smith had limited interaction with people outside her family.

“As far as I’m aware, after Annie finished school she did not work, study, volunteer or do any other regular activity in the community,” her statement said.

Brooke remembered her friend as a caring person who was loved by her family, and said she would never forget her laugh.

But she said the two had had a falling out about a year before Ms Smith’s death.

“I noticed that around this time Annie started to change as a person and became quite negative,” she said.

“Despite living much closer, I stopped visiting her … so we didn’t speak during the final year of her life.”

She said what happened to Ms Smith was incomprehensible.

“I shouldn’t have made excuses,” she said.

“I carry a lot of guilt about that and I know that things would have been different if I had gone around to see her.”