Woman freezes to death despite cries for help

A 66-year-old woman suffering from dementia froze to death earlier this week despite her screams for help, police say.

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At about 5:30 a.m. on Monday, a mail delivery person found the woman’s body on the side of Kennaley Crescent. Her coat was found discarded on the street.

Her screams for help in the middle of the night went unanswered, police said.

“It’s unexpected”, said Anson Yang, a six-year resident of the area.

The neighbourhood is home to many Chinese immigrants, he said.

“They’re quite passive like traditional Chinese type,” Yang said. “If you want to ask help, they would like to help but they won’t do it actively, they do it passively.”

The woman had wandered from her house on nearby Cleadon Road, police said.

Her husband realized she wasn’t in bed at about 2 a.m but assumed she’d gone to sleep on the sofa, police said. When he woke up again an hour later, he realized she was missing and drove around the neighbourhood looking for her.

He called police around 4:45 a.m. to report her missing.

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By: Jessica Lee
Posted: Jan 20 2011 5:42 pm
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