By Joseph Keith
A Leeds father has described the death of his 45-year-old daughter as the result of the tragic lifestyle she led, an inquest heard yesterday.
Helen Edmands, 45, of Oatland Place, Woodhouse, sustained a fatal head injury in her flat on June 18 last year, where she lived alone.
Coroner David Hinchliff ruled that she died after falling backwards down her stairs.
She was found by paramedics, who pronounced Helen dead at 8.30am.
According to Helen’s GP, she suffered from bi-polar, obsessive eating disorder, obsessive hoarding, severe back pain and occasional numbness in her legs.
The inquest heard her mother died of cancer when she was five-years-old and her father said Helen never recovered from it, claiming it became the “first step of her downward spiral.”
Her father, Trevor Edmands, said: “Helen led a tragic lifestyle. She had an alcohol problem and she was used and abused by petty criminals, before eventually falling foul of a pimp.”
He added: “The enduring aspects of her character masked her insecurities, Helen was a very loving person. She managed to beat her alcohol addiction we became close, more than just a father and daughter. We were best friends.”
The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.