Woman jailed after sleeping next to partner's decomposing body three weeks after he died of heart attack
A court heard the couple's relationship had been "turbulent" and involved "drunken arguments and domestic violence"
A woman who slept next to her partner's body for three weeks after he died of a heart attack has been jailed.
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Sally Smithson, 61, admitted a charge of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body after John Blackwell was discovered dead by police on October 21 last year.
It is believed that Mr Blackwell, 71, who had a serious heart condition, had in fact died around October 1.
Suspicion arose after the couple's cleaner was cancelled numerous times, weeks after Mr Blackwell was last seen on September 19.
Neighbours also reported seeing erratic behaviour from Smithson, who was seen peering through windows.
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Officers later recovered text messages from Mr Blackwell's phone after his death as Smithson attempted to cover it up.
A probe was launched and Smithson, of Clare, near Thame in Oxfordshire, appeared at Oxford Crown Court where she pleaded guilty to the charge.
A judge described the case as a "tragedy" and told Smithson she had previously lived a "perfectly honest and sensible life."
Charles Ward-Jackson, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Blackwell's body was in an advanced stage of decomposition when it was found.
It was heard that Mr Blackwell suffered from a serious heart condition and that the suspected cause of death was a heart attack.
Mr Ward-Jackson said the relationship between Smithson and Mr Blackwell and been "turbulent" and involved "drunken arguments and domestic violence."
He added: "Police found his body on the bedroom floor.
"He was flat on his back and naked. He was in an advanced stage of decomposition.
"There were no signs of injuries. The TV was on and the bed was slept in. The defendant had been sleeping in the bed for three weeks."
Judge Michael Gledhill KC sentenced Smithson to 14 months behind bars.
The judge said: "It's a tragedy to see you in the dock of this court. You led a perfectly honest and sensible life before you first appeared in court in 2018.
"The relationship was volatile. The deceased appears to have died from natural causes.
"You must have been sleeping next to his dead body for about three weeks.'This was a very grave and serious offence.
"It was an affront to the standards of public decency."
Peter Du Feu, defending, said: "On the weekend it happened, there were two phone calls to the coroner's office.
"She said that was her immediate instinct. But then, she put her head in the sand. She is remorseful and has a deep understanding of what happened. She is facing up to this and is very upset indeed."