MaryAnn Taylor, a 52-year-old mother living in Scotland, is struggling to find peace in her home after her son died there unexpectedly. Taylor was vacationing in the Dominican Republic in September 2024 when she decided to check her security footage. She noticed that her dogs were behaving unusually, running in and out of the kitchen, where they appeared to be looking at something.
Taylor contacted her son’s friend and asked him to check on her 30-year-old son, Craig. Sadly, before the friend even had a chance to enter the home, he saw Craig apparently lifeless on the kitchen floor.
Taylor’s son had been dead for hours.
When police arrived, they determined that Craig had been dead for hours before his friend found him, the Daily Mail reported. Since that tragic day, Taylor has not been able to disconnect the memory of her son’s passing from the physical structure of the home. “The first thing I do in the morning is pass by his empty bedroom,” she told the Daily Record.
‘I can barely make it through the day,’ Taylor said.
The police have yet to identify a cause of death for Craig, which has left Taylor feeling even more unsettled.
“The second thing I do is go into the room where he died and was left for all those hours on his own. I’ve got to sit in the lounge, where they broke the window to get access to him,” she said, via the Daily Record. “While I’m trapped in this house, I can barely get through a day.”
Taylor needs a new home that fits her lifestyle.
In the six months since her son’s death, Taylor, who has arthritis and a heart condition, has been struggling mentally as well. She’s struggling with suicidal ideation and has petitioned the government for a new council house. Taylor claims her pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Although the Edinburgh Council has proposed certain properties, they don’t meet her needs. Taylor needs a yard for her dogs and space for her daughter and carer to come stay.
WIth the lack of viable options, Taylor believes the council has left her to “struggle on her own.” “My lifeline is my two dogs,” she said, according to the Daily Mail. “I need a house with a garden for them. I can’t go live in a flat, I can’t go up the stairs and there’s nowhere for the dogs to go.”
As for their side of the story, the council states that it is “aware of the situation and working with Maryann to find a solution,” the news outlet reported.
‘I’m just so tired from fighting it all,’ Taylor said.
Taylor is not convinced. “Edinburgh Council think I’m being inflexible,” she said, per the Daily Record. “But I’ve said I’m willing to live in half of the city. Ideally I’d like to be near my family, friends, my carers – in the area I grew up in, but I’ve said I’m happy to go out with that. I just feel that the system is so broken.”
Ultimately, Taylor said she is weary in many ways. “I am just so tired from fighting it all. Last night I came downstairs during the night to get a drink and I kept seeing my son everywhere dead on the floor. I am having a bit of a breakdown, to be honest – and I am surprised it’s taken this long.”
Taylor doesn’t know how long she can continue living this way. “I just can’t seem to get help from anyone. I told my housing officer, I’ve not got three months left in this house let alone three weeks.”
