CORPSE BROTHER 'FOOLED' He thought sis was alive.

Byline: TOM TUITE

THE brother of the woman who lived with her dead sister for a year said yesterday he was fooled into believing the deceased was still alive.

Michael "Sonny" Lyons said he only discovered Agnes was dead when sister Mary Ellen, 65, became ill and called for help. But he told an inquest it was a mystery why Mary Ellen had lived with the decaying corpse in her bedroom and never told anyone about it.

Sonny, of Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, said: "Part of the reason, I believe is that Agnes, while still alive, had faded away to such an extent that there wasn't a lot left when she did die.

"And if there was an odour, Mary Ellen probably dealt with it with the use of disinfectant. I am convinced she didn't want to part from her sister, that she wanted to stay with her in death and even after it."

The nation was shocked at the revelation that Mary Ellen had shared a double bed with her dead sister Agnes, who died aged 70, for a year.

Coroner John O'Dwyer told the Westport inquest it was clear from the evidence that Sonny did all he was permitted to in helping his sisters. Neighbours and welfare professionals were always available to help in any way but Agnes and Mary Ellen chose to live as they did. Verdict: Death by self-neglect.

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SHOCK: Sonny