A Wiltshire couple’s decomposed bodies have been found lying in bed together.
Police were called to Horsepools Cottage, next to Eastleigh Farm in the village of Bishopstrow, near Warminster, on 7 December, where they discovered two corpses.
An inquest at Salisbury Coroner’s Court heard that officers attended the address after their landlord raised concerns for the welfare of 62-year-old Claudia Forbes.
She and her husband, Andrew, 74, were located in bed together deceased – though it was not possible to tell how long ago the couple had passed away.
Their cause of death could not be ascertained by a post mortem examination and the coroner ordered toxicology and histology tests to be completed.
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “This was reported to us on Tuesday, December 7 and our investigation, including into the circumstances, is ongoing.”
The force is not believed to be treating the deaths as suspicious, and there was not believed to be any third-party involvement.
“It is shocking. We do not get things like this occurring within our village”, Mike Perry, chairman of Bishopstrow Parish Council, said.
He added: “Obviously this is very unusual. It is strange these people have been there for that amount of time and nobody in our village seems to know them.
“It is a tragic event. It was quite a shock.”