British national Steven Smith, 43, spent decades yearning to connect with his biological mother, a figure shrouded in mystery since his adoption as a baby. Years of searching culminated in a life-changing breakthrough: a DNA test revealed the whereabouts of his long-lost mother, Daphne Morfydd, according to BBC.
Overcome with anticipation, Steven decided to surprise her at her home in March 2021. However, the joy of this longed-for reunion was tragically shattered. Entering Ms Daphne's Bethnal Green flat, Steven found her lifeless on the bathroom floor.
Devastated by this sudden loss, Steven's grief is compounded by the incompleteness of his journey. Driven by a relentless desire to understand his heritage, he now seeks to find his biological father, hoping to meet at least one of his biological parents.
"I was born at St David's Hospital in Carmarthen in 1980 and moved to East London with my mother when I was just three months old. Not long after that, I was placed into care, all of which I didn't find out about until I was a teenager," Steven told to BBC.
"Turns out I was named Jason Jones on my birth certificate, and my real mother was called Daphne. It was a real shock."
He added that the truth about his origins had been further muddied by social services having lost his adoption case file.
"In 2021, I did a DNA test that revealed I had a half-brother I never knew about-it turns out he'd just done a similar test himself," said Steven, who had moved to Essex by that point.
"What is more, he was living barely 30 minutes up the road from me."
He found out he had a half-sister, and she knew where his mother was.
"I was given an address in Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets, and I waited until the Covid restrictions had lifted before going over there," Steven told The BBC.
Wanting to make his mom happy, he dressed up in a suit and brought flowers. However, when he reached her apartment, she didn't respond to the doorbell, and there was a pile of unopened mail outside. Checking around the back, he discovered the back door was open. Upon entering, he found her dead on the bathroom floor.
