Woman dies in mysterious circumstances after revealing how she was sexually abused by Satanists

London: A nurse who claimed she has been sexually abused by a Satanic cult was found dead in mysterious circumstances, an inquest has heard.

Carol Myers said her family were Satanists who abused her and even claimed her mother murdered her sister then set fire to the house to hide the evidence.

A police probe found the disturbing allegations were unsubstantiated and the 41-year-old's family believe they were false memories dreamt up during controversial recovered memory therapy sessions.

The brother of Carol Myers, who was born Carol Felstead but changed her name, said the claims were a "myth" and said the family "fiercely" contest the allegations

Kevin Felstead told Westminster Coroner's Court: "I just want to ask that the court acknowledges that Carol developed false memories.

"She had treatment and memories that were false and demonstrably not true."

Coroner Fiona Wilcox, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, said she could not rule that Ms Myers suffered from false memories.

But she acknowledged that the "extreme allegations that were made of satanic sexual abuse and murder were investigated and found to be absolutely unsubstantiated".

Ms Myers was found dead by police next to tablets on her bed in her flat in Wandsworth, south London, on June 29 2005.

She had suffered from "post-traumatic stress-style" flashbacks and had been receiving counselling since 1985, when she contacted the Samaritans, the court heard.

Over the course of the next two decades she made disturbing allegations accusing her family of abuse.

But her family blame her memories on her counselling sessions, claiming that she went to the doctor with a headache and that set in motion a chain of events that led to the extreme allegations.

Mr Felstead said that by not ruling that these memories were false the court left "a lingering doubt, a lingering suspicion that these things are true, and our position is that they are categorically not".

"There was a 15 month investigation and it concluded that she was not abused, she was not sexually assaulted. It was a myth," he said.

"Carol went to the doctor with a persistent headache. There was nothing wrong with with Carol before she had therapy.

"All of her problems came from her having therapy."