Julie Stephen says she’s “baffled” as to how Edinburgh council employees failed to notice a dead body in the bathroom of their City Chambers building for almost a week
Sean Stephen and his wife Julie (Image: Facebook)
A grieving wife “can’t understand” how her husband’s body lay unnoticed in a council toilet for six days.
Julie Stephen, 47, was speaking to her husband Sean on the phone when he entered a cubicle at Edinburgh’s City Chambers because he started feeling unwell. But the 38-year-old failed to emerge from the building, with Julie reporting him missing some hours later on July 1.
Julie says “it baffles me” that the security guards, cleaners, and receptionist at the council building had failed to notice a dead body in the toilet for almost a week.
Shortly after his body was discovered, Julie – who married Sean back in 1999 – took to social media to slam the council. “Shame on Edinburgh Council,” she wrote. “Left you inside their building for a week. You could’ve been saved.”
Sean was described as a “gentle giant”(Image: Facebook)
When Julie contacted police that evening, she was told he couldn’t be registered as a missing person because of his age. Without their support, Julie and Sean’s loved ones spent a week searching and putting flyers up in shops.
Julie told the Daily Record: “There’s CCTV footage of him on the phone to me walking up the Royal Mile and into the council building.
“He was healthy but said he was feeling dizzy and sick. He said he was going to get a taxi. I came off the phone when he was going to do the toilet. That was the last time I spoke to him.
“Could he have been saved? These are questions which will be in my head for rest of my life.”
She added: “We went searching everywhere. We were two minutes away from him, we didn’t expect him to be in a locked building. When they found him his body was so decomposed. I couldn’t even see his body.
“I had to give his toothbrush for DNA. This could happen to anybody. It’s horrible, it’s torture.”
Julie said the ordeal has left her “emotionally drained” and she’s asking for help to “bring his body home and lay him to rest”.
“I will get the answers but right now I just need to lay him to rest”, she said.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “At 9.20pm on Tuesday, 1 July, 2025 we received a report of concern for a 38-year-old man in the Edinburgh area who failed to make an pre-arranged appointment. Enquiries were carried out to trace him and he was traced deceased on Monday, 7 July in the High Street area of Edinburgh.”
A Council spokesperson said: “We’re continuing to assist Police Scotland with their inquiries and can’t comment any further at this stage.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up by pals to help raise funds to cover the funeral costs for the “loving gentle giant”.
Sean’s pal Adele Ford, who set up the Gofundme page, said: “I’m looking to raise some funds towards Sean’s funeral costs. It’s to lift a bit pressure off his wife Julie and family. Sean went missing on 1st July 2025 and unfortunately was found dead on 7th July 2025.
“This was very unexpected. He’s only 38 years old he had his full life ahead of him he was the most loving gentle giant you’d ever meet. He was born and bred in the Southside area of Edinburgh and was well known by a lot of people
“I was like a sister to Sean. We are absolutely devastated that he was found dead, unexplained. Any help would be appreciated to give him the best send off he deserves. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”