A coroner has opened an investigation after a 33-year-old woman was found decomposing in Plaistow.

Polish national Marta Perkowska was found dead at her home in Greengate Street on July 23.

Police referred the case to the East London Coroner’s Court after finding “no clear cause of death” because her body was “in an advanced state of decomposition”.

“A neighbour had raised a call to the Metropolitan Police Service indicating that they believed that Miss Perkowska had possibly passed away due to the fact that there was an unpleasant smell coming from her room,” said Graeme Irvine, senior coroner for east London.

Attending officers entered her room and noted “obvious signs of decomposition”.

Miss Perkowska was identified via “a mosaic of evidence”, said Mr Irvine.

Her Polish passport was found near her body and others living in the address confirmed that the body was found in Miss Perkowska’s living quarters.

A post-mortem examination failed to identify any cause of death, so toxicology tests were ordered.

But those too were “unhelpful”, said Mr Irvine, leading the pathologist to give her cause of death as “unascertained”.

He opened an inquest into her death at East London Coroner’s Court, Walthamstow, on Friday, September 13.

“Because there is no clear cause of death, I must open an inquest,” he said.

“It may well be that greater insight is gained into the potential causes of death.”

The inquest was adjourned to March 4, 2025.