We all feel the weight of the meaning behind the line “Hell is other people,” from the play ‘No Exit’ from time to time. A little “alone time” is necessary every now and then, no matter how much you enjoy the company of others.
But one woman went so far as to make ‘alone time’ almost a way of life. She took her social isolation far beyond what most people consider normal and, because of it, she would come to a strange end.
** Continue Reading for Video at End of Story **
Windrush
Joyce was born in the Hammersmith district of west London in 1965 to parents who’d immigrated to England from the tiny island country of Grenada. That made her part of the “Windrush generation,” which was the name for the many Caribbean immigrants that came to the UK in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
Difficult Upbringing
Despite the fact that the immigrants came to the UK at the invitation of the British government to address the labor shortage after World War II, members of the Windrush generation were faced with a great deal of discrimination and prejudice, making their lives even more difficult than it usually is for immigrants.
Further Tragedy
Being the youngest of five sisters and one brother, things were especially difficult for Joyce and they got even worse when, at the age of 11, her mother died. That left just her father to care for the large family on his carpenter’s wages. When he wasn’t working to support them, he was usually chasing various women.
Distant Father
He left Joyce’s upbringing largely to her sisters and was emotionally distant, leading to a strained relationship between the two of them. As she grew up, she became more and more distant from her siblings as well.
Striking Out
By the time she was 16 years old, Joyce dropped out of school, choosing to work instead. It seemed that she wanted nothing more than to get out of the life she was living at home and, as soon as she could afford it, she struck out on her own.
Doing Well
She worked a number of different jobs, as a secretary here and in the treasury department there. At all of her jobs, she was generally well liked. She was well spoken, polite, and was an attractive woman with a beautiful smile.
A Little Strange
But there were some social peculiarities about Joyce. She didn’t seem to have any interest in developing any close friendships. She also seemed extremely averse to the most minor of confrontations, so much so that when she had a small clash with a coworker, she had no problem simply walking away from a job forever.
Unattached
She moved from apartment to apartment in London, never really developing any close attachments at all. And Joyce let the few close bonds she had with her family deteriorate over the years, seeing them and talking to them less and less.
A Lover
It seemed like the only serious relationships she had were romantic ones and, when she was dating with someone, she would tolerate their circle of friends for as long as the relationship lasted. But when she broke up with a boyfriend, she would also cut all ties with the friends she’d met through him.
Bad Relationship
Then, Joyce Vincent had one romantic relationship that went especially poorly. In 2001, she spent some time in a shelter for victims of domestic abuse in Haringey, during which time she took a job as a cleaner at a budget hotel.
Cut Off
It was during that time that Joyce Vincent completely cut all ties with her family, refusing to answer their phone calls or see them at all. It’s not clear exactly why, though it’s been speculated that it’s possible she was ashamed of the abuse she’d been subjected to or simply was avoiding being tracked by her abuser at all costs.
Ghosting
In February of 2003, Joyce moved into the one bedroom apartment above the Wood Green Shopping City. The flat was owned by the Metropolitan Housing Trust and was used specifically to house victims of abuse. In November of that year, she spent two days in the hospital due for treatment of a peptic ulcer. Then, no one heard anything from her.
Where Are You?
Joyce’s family didn’t know where she was living and was trying desperately to located her. They’d even gone so far as to hire a private detective to track her down. He would eventually find an address for her but she didn’t respond to any of her family’s letters. It would be years before anyone had any word of what had happened to her.
Piling Bills
Beginning in 2004, there was a problem with Joyce’s rent. While half of it was being paid by benefits agencies, she was contributing no money of her own. She eventually accrued £2,400 of debt in unpaid rent, leading housing officials to make the decision to repossess the apartment in January of 2006.
Unexpected Scene
When the authorities eventually forced entry into the apartment, they were confronted by the sound of a running television and a strong odor. In the living room, they found the a badly decomposed body lying on its back in front of the TV, next to a shopping bag, surrounded by wrapped Christmas presents. The body was Joyce Vincent’s.
A Skeleton
Her body was so badly decomposed that the pathologist described them as “mostly skeletal” and Joyce had to be identified by her dental records. She had apparently died sometime before Christmas in 2003. The woman who was 38 years old at the time of her death had been lying there quietly for more than two years without a soul in the world aware that she was gone.
The Empty Apartment
Her neighbors in the apartment had simply assumed that the apartment was unoccupied and that the faint odor that escaped the apartment was coming from the garbage disposal area that was nearby.
No Line of Sight
None of the apartment’s windows allowed a view into the room where her body lay and because the rough area was often frequented by drug addicts, no one questioned the constant murmur that was coming from her television, which was still on because her bills were being paid by automatic debit payments.
Natural Causes
Because her remains were so badly decomposed, it was impossible to say what caused Joyce’s death but all signs pointed to some natural cause. Her front door was double locked and there were no signs of a break-in or struggle. There were no drugs or implements of suicide found near her body or in the apartment.
Gifts Ungiven
None of the gifts Joyce had wrapped were labeled, so it was impossible to say who they were for. She apparently had a boyfriend at the time. But he “disappeared,” and all attempts to track him down failed.
This Is Your Life
The reason for Joyce’s emotional isolation remained a mystery and, when a movie called Dreams of a Life was made about her story in 2011, the mystery deepened further. Carol Morley, the film’s writer and director tracked down and interviewed people who knew Joyce but their accounts of her only left people with more questions.
Rubbing Elbows
Without exception, the people who knew Joyce described her as beautiful, intelligent, and socially active. She had met people in her life like Nelson Mandela, Ben E. King, Gil Scott-Heron, Betty Wright, and had once been to dinner with Stevie Wonder.
Social Climber
She seemed like a social climber and when she simply dropped out of people’s lives, they just assumed she was off somewhere else, living a better life than most. They had no idea that although Joyce had a wide social network, she was actually isolated from everyone, not letting anyone get too close to her.
Lonliness
There may have been nothing that could have stopped Joyce Vincent’s death but there was certainly something that could have stopped her from going so long without being discovered: truly letting others into her life.
