A ‘troubled’ mother-of-two lay dead in her house for around a month before she was discovered with one of her beloved sausage dogs lying dead beside her.
Jemma Hart, 43, was found lifeless at her home in Swindon in January 2024 after neighbour Lorraine, 66, urged police to make a ‘welfare check’.
The mother had been partially eaten by her two starving dachshunds after an acrimonious split with her boyfriend just days before Christmas, a close friend revealed.
‘Jemma had mental health problems and was a troubled soul’, Lorraine told MailOnline today.
She said: ‘It was the dogs that caused me to go round there.
‘I knocked on the door because I could hear the dogs barking but there was no answer.
‘So, I tried the key she had given me but I couldn’t unlock the door because there was a key on the inside of the lock.
‘I went home and I ummed and ahhed. Then I thought I’ll ask the police to make a welfare check. And that’s when they found her.’
Lorraine told how Ms Hart had split from a long-term boyfriend in the weeks before her death at Christmas 2023.
Jemma Hart, 45, (pictured) was found to have been partially mauled by her dachshunds when her body was eventually discovered at her home in Swindon on January 29, 2024
Dachshunds Millie and Frankie (pictured) had partially mauled their owner after her death, a police officer previously revealed
She added: ‘She had a boyfriend who was very good to her.
‘But he called the police on her when he said he was going to leave her.
‘He left about four months later, at around Christmas 2023.’
Ms Hart had intended to breed her two Dachshund dogs and sell the puppies, Lorraine revealed.
She said: ‘Jemma told me she was going to breed her Dachshunds and sell the puppies.
‘The brown one, Milly, was still a puppy was a lovely dog. But the black one, Frankie was vicious. He didn’t like people or other dogs.’
Ms Hart’s lifeless body was discovered by police on January 29, 2024, about a month after she was last seen, an inquest heard this week.
One of the dogs was also found dead at the scene and the other dog was in a distressed condition.
The police officer who attended the scene told Swindon Coroners Court that the dogs had been eating her after her death.
The mother has been pictured for the first time with her dogs, who a police officer revealed had been eating her body after her sudden death
The Swindon home (centre) where Ms Hart’s body was found after her suicide
Yesterday, neighbours revealed they had been ‘surprised’ the sound of her pet dogs barking had not raised the alarm sooner
Jemma had two grown-up sons.
In a heartbreaking tribute posted on Ms Hart’s Facebook page, her son informed friends and family of his mother’s tragic passing.
‘After spending the last couple of weeks to even process what we’re about to share. It’s with great sadness to say that my beautiful mum Jemma passed away January 29 unexpectedly and I wanted to inform you all,’ he wrote, signing the tribute ‘Jem’s Boys & Family’.
Reacting to the post, a friend replied: ‘Your mum was a lovely woman I’m so sorry for your loss.’
Another said: ‘Very sad to hear this news, I heard this news yesterday. I had many good moments with Jem.’
Yesterday, neighbours revealed they had been ‘surprised’ the sound of her pet dogs barking had not raised the alarm sooner and expressed regret that they did know she was having mental health struggles.
New occupants now live in her three-bedroom, mid-terrace modern home owned by a housing association.
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Jemma was a lovely woman and everyone who knew her around here would agree.
‘She always had time to stop and chat. She was just an all-round wonderful person.
‘What surprises me is that the walls that partition her house from her neighbours’ homes are paper thin, so if the dogs were barking, clearly no one heard them for a long time.’
Another neighbour said: ‘What a truly awful tragedy. Everyone around here is devastated by this.’
Ms Hart’s death came as ‘a huge shock’ to her neighbours as they had no idea she was suffering from mental health struggles, they said.
One said she felt ‘incredible guilt’ that she had not picked up on Ms Hart’s mental illness before it was too late.
The neighbour said: ‘None of us had any real idea that she had mental health problems.
‘We just knew her as a friendly local who we would see out and about most days walking her dogs.
‘We’d sometimes stop and chat, but never a conversation that went very deep. If we’d known what she was going through, we’d definitely have kept more of an eye out for her.
‘It’s taught us a real lesson, which is that you can’t assume someone you see every day is as happy as they seem.
Ms Hart is pictured with one of her beloved dogs outdoors during happier times
A police officer who attended the scene revealed that Ms Hart’s dogs had been eating her body after her sudden death
Concerned neighbours had raised the alarm after they reported her absence to police, having not heard from her since Christmas the previous year
‘As a community, we’ve become much closer as a result of her death and now we will stop and talk to each other.
‘I guess we’re kind of checking in on each other and making sure everybody’s okay.
‘But of course that does not take away any of the incredible guilt I personally feel for not having picked up on what she was going through. It is absolutely heartbreaking.’
A post-mortem report carried out by toxicologist Peter Street confirmed Ms Hart died from suicide.
A police officer who attended the scene revealed that Ms Hart’s dogs had been eating her body after her sudden death, the Swindon Advertiser reported.
Coroner Ian Singleton concluded: ‘Jemma lived alone with her two dogs in Swindon and she was estranged from her family.
‘Jemma was found in her home with injuries caused by dogs after she died. Her death has been recorded as suicide.’
Mr Singleton told the inquest that Ms Hart was found dead in her living room after neighbours told police they had not seen her since Christmas.
He revealed that one of the dogs was also found dead and the other was in a ‘distressed’ condition.
Police said Ms Hart’s death is not being treated as suspicious.
At her inquest, Ms Hart’s son described his mother’s love for her sausage dogs.
He said: ‘She’d had dogs in the past but in 2022 she got a dachshund called Frankie and a year later she got another one called Millie.
‘Her house backed onto Lydiard Park where she regularly walked her dogs, and the dogs were her life.’
Ms Hart, who faced several health and mobility battles, had lived in her home for around 10 years.
Her physical difficulties forced her to stop working and she struggled with physical pain and insomnia.
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
