THREE members of the same family have appeared in court charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of a 49 year old woman whose body was found in an advanced state of decomposition at a house in Helmsley.

The body of Rina Yasutake was discovered at the house on Bondgate in September 2018 after the police were alerted.

Three people, two women and a man appeared before Scarborough Magistrates Court. Michiko Yasutake, 76, Yoshika Yasutake, 52, and Takahiro Yasutake, 47 all from Helmsley, were granted unconditional bail on charges of preventing the lawful and decent burial of Ms Yasutake who is understood to have attended Queen Mary's School and Cambridge University. They were remanded to York Crown Court on December 2.