Coronial inquest hears testimony about the lonely life of 'the woman Sydney forgot', Natalie Jean Wood

SHE lay dead on the floor of her inner city home for more than eight years. Now a coronial inquest has determined what happened.

Natalie Jean Wood, who laid dead on the floor of her Sydney apartment for almost eight years. Picture: Supplied

THE woman who lay dead for almost eight years in an inner city apartment likely cut off contact with her extended family after she was not invited to Christmas celebrations, the NSW state coroner has ruled.

Coroner Michael Barnes ruled today that Natalie Jean Wood - who police found dead on her bedroom floor in July 2011 - died on an unknown date in February 2004.

The cause and manner of her death were unable to be determined.

He said it was likely she had fallen in her home and died after a "relatively short period because she could not get up or summon assistance".

He said he suspected Mrs Wood's family were not surprised she had not contacted them after she "expressed her disappointment to them" over not sharing Christmas with her, as they usually did.

Ms Wood's brother, Vane, and sister-in-law Enid May Davis did not spend Christmas with Ms Wood after they made alternative plans with friends, the court heard.

The front room of Ms Wood's Surry Hills apartment. Picture: The Daily Telegraph

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TALK TO HER?

Enid Davis told the inquest that before Ms Wood's death, she would see her "sometimes every day, sometimes every month".

She said the last time she saw Ms Wood in person was on January 3, 2003, where Ms Wood told her she had a brain tumour. But the Coroner denied that was true.

"I am of the view Mrs Davis is mistaken in her belief she last saw Mrs Wood in January 2003," he said. Ms Wood was not diagnosed with a tumour until November 2003, he said.

The coroner said he suspected that Ms Wood was very upset that Mr and Ms Davis would not let her be discharged from the hospital to their home.

"Although Ms Davis denies it, I expect Ms Wood expressed her disappointment to them when she saw them soon after Christmas 2003," Mr Barnes ruled.

"I suspect she did it in such a manner that when she ceased all further contact they were not surprised and did not assume anything untoward had become of her."

A SPECIAL KNOCK TO OPEN THE DOOR

The police officer who headed up the investigation into Ms Wood's death, Andrew Wells, told the inquest Ms Wood was a "bit of a recluse", and according to Ms Davis's statement, she would not open the door to her apartment without a distinctive knock.

Ms Davis also provided the inquest with details of Ms Wood's day-to-day life in Kippax St. Asked if Mrs Wood had any hobbies, Ms Davis told the court: "Definitely no, except watching television."

Ms Davis also said Ms Wood did not have a fridge after her previous one had rusted. Ms Wood filled her days by walking to the shops and to Sydney's foreshore, Ms Davis said.

Ms Wood's mail was redirected to Ms Davis and her husband Vane's home until July 2004 when it ceased because she did not renew her mail redirect notice.

"(After the tumour and Christmas incidents) they were not surprised when she did not renew the mail redirection when it next fell due."

Natalie Jean Wood in a 1930s image during her time at Crown St Public School. Picture: The Daily Telegraph

THE DISCOVERY

According to the coroner's report, in 2007 and 2008 Ms Davis made attempts to contact Mrs Wood through the police and through Centrelink.

In 2011, when she wanted to return some property in her home to Ms Wood, Mrs Davis arranged for her solicitor to go to the house with a key.

On July 5, police went with him and discovered Ms Wood's skeletal remains.

Her pink dentures remained perched on her jaw.

The police officer in charge of the investigation into Ms Wood's death, Detective Senior Constable Andrew Wells, described how a layer of dust covered much of Ms Wood's home.

The floor of her home was covered with dust and leaves.

Police found a packet of Karvea, prescription medication for high blood pressure. The prescription had been filled at her local chemist on December 30, 2003.

Mr Wells told the inquest that, given the number of pills left in the packet and the fact she took them every day, Mrs Wood could have died 26 days later.

Ms Wood's bank account had not been touched since she made a $400 withdrawal using a Commonwealth Bank passbook on December 18, 2003.

She accrued interest and money from Centrelink during that time. Centrelink stopped her pension payments on February 20, 2008.

She did not appear at a doctor's appointment scheduled for February 2, 2004.

Mr Barnes said he believed that a neighbour who said he spotted in a mystery woman in the home of Ms Wood four years before police found her skeleton was mistaken.

Pathologists were unable to determine the cause of Mrs Wood's death due to the length of time she laid on the floor.

Ms Wood's estate includes a Surry Hills home reportedly worth as much as $1 million and she had $79,270.40 in her bank account.

Mr Barnes said he was not persuaded new regulations were required to address the circumstances of her death.

"Cases like this one are exceedingly rare," he said, although he was "deeply saddened by the circumstances."

Follow this reporter's coverage of the inquest on Twitter: @drpiotrowski