Joyce Vincent
Joyce Vincent | |
---|---|
Born | Joyce Carol Vincent 19 October 1965 Hammersmith, London, England |
Died | (aged 38) Wood Green, London, England |
Body discovered | 25 January 2006 |
Joyce Carol Vincent (19 October 1965 – December 2003) was an English woman whose death went unnoticed for more than two years as her corpse lay undiscovered at her
Vincent's life and death were the topic of Dreams of a Life, a 2011 docudrama film. The film and Vincent's life inspired musician Steven Wilson's album Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Life
Joyce Vincent was born in London's
In 1985, Vincent began working as a secretary at
In February 2003, Vincent was moved into the
Death
Vincent lived above the Shopping City in
Neighbours had assumed the flat was unoccupied, and the odour of decomposing body tissue was attributed to nearby waste bins.
The Metropolitan Housing Trust said that due to housing benefits covering the costs of rent for some period after Vincent's death, arrears had not been realised until much later.[2] The Trust also said that no concerns were raised by neighbours or visitors at any time during the two years between her death and the discovery of her body.[2]
Vincent's remains were too badly decomposed to conduct a full
The Glasgow Herald reported,
"...her friends noted her as someone who fled at signs of trouble, who walked out of jobs if she clashed with a colleague, and who moved from one flat to the next all over London. She didn't answer the phone to her sister and didn't appear to have her own circle of friends, instead relying on the company of relative strangers who came with the package of a new boyfriend, a colleague, or flatmate."[8]
In popular culture
Dreams of a Life
A film about Vincent, Dreams of a Life, written and directed by Carol Morley with Zawe Ashton playing Vincent, was released in 2011.[1] Morley tracked down and interviewed people who had known Vincent. They described a beautiful, intelligent, socially active woman, "upwardly mobile" and "a high flyer", who they assumed "was off somewhere having a better life than they were".[1] During her life, she met figures such as Nelson Mandela, Ben E. King, Gil Scott-Heron, and Betty Wright, spoke on the telephone with Isaac Hayes and had also been to dinner with Stevie Wonder, although he had no idea at the time.[1][19]
Steven Wilson album
On 4 November 2014, English musician Steven Wilson announced that his fourth solo album, titled Hand. Cannot. Erase., would be based on the life of Vincent.[20] According to Wilson, he was inspired to create a concept album after seeing Dreams of a Life.[21] From the book that accompanied the deluxe release of the album it is clear that the central character, 'H.', is a highly fictionalised version of Vincent: she is born on 8 October 1978 to an Italian mother and dies or disappears on 22 December 2014. Her only sister is 'J.', who was briefly fostered by her parents prior to their divorce. In the album and book the Christmas presents are intended for H.'s estranged brother and his family.[22]
See also
- Kodokushi – Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time
- List of solved missing person cases
- List of unsolved deaths
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Morley, Carol (9 October 2011). "Joyce Carol Vincent: How could this young woman lie dead and undiscovered for almost three years?". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Joyce Vincent". Bizarre Globe. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (2 August 2012). "Lost to Her Friends, but There All the Time". New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Macdonald, Kevin. "Carol Morley vs Kevin Macdonald: video interview exclusive". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ YouTube at SXSWFilm Fest 2012-05-25
- ^ a b c d Dawar, Anil (14 April 2006). "Body of woman left to rot in her flat for two years". Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ Knight, India (16 April 2006). "The dark side of Bridget". Sunday Times.
- ^ a b "A life lived alone in a city of millions". Glasgow Herald. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ Edwards, Richard (13 April 2006). "Body in flat for 2 years: TV was still on". Evening Standard.
- ^ a b c d e "Woman's body in bedsit for years". BBC News. 14 April 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Martin. "Freedom of Information request" (PDF). BBC. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- YouTube
- ^ Gillan, Audrey (14 April 2006). "Body of woman, 40, lay unmissed in flat for more than two years". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ Duff, Oliver (14 April 2006). "Woman lay dead in her flat for more than two years". The Independent.
- ^ Dreams of a Life: A Glimpse into a Golden Apple Archived 7 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Dialect Magazine
- ^ "Latest Film Reviews - Movie News - Features - Interviews - Empire". Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Dreams of a Life | Filmmaker Carol Morley". Archived from the original on 18 November 2013.
- YouTube
- ^ "Dreams of a Life – review | cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Steven Wilson at Air Studios – Part 2: Concept and Inspiration | StevenWilsonHQ.com Retrieved June 12, 2016
- Ultimate-Guitar.Com. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ Steven Wilson, Hand. Cannot. Erase. Deluxe edition with insert facsimile documents. Kscope, 2015