Rina Yasutake: Body in house case against family dropped

Rina Yasutake's body was found in a house on Bondgate in Helmsley, North Yorkshire

The family of a woman thought to have lain dead in a bedroom for six weeks have had charges against them dropped.

Rina Yasutake's decomposed remains were found at a house in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, on 25 September 2018.

Sister Yoshika, 53, brother Takahiro, 48, and mother Michiko, 77, were set to face trial accused of preventing the 49-year-old's lawful burial.

Prosecutors told York Crown Court that pursuing the case was not in the public interest.

At a hearing on Tuesday, they said they would offer no evidence against the Yasutake family, but Recorder of York Judge Sean Morris granted a request for the case to remain on file.

Rina Yasutake was an artist and a former boarding pupil at fee-paying Queen Mary's School in Thirsk.

Her cause of death has not been established, but her mother and siblings were charged with failed to ensure a proper burial during a six-week period between August and September 2018.

The defendants, originally from Japan and all of Bondgate, Helmsley, had been due to face trial this month after a series of adjournments.