Later in 2019, Alphonsine, 47, and her two daughters moved into their council house in Hartley Road and got to know locals in the community.
The older of the two children, who is in her 20s, moved out in April 2022, the inquest heard.
One shopkeeper affectionately called Alphonsine “Cameroon woman”, and described her as an easy-going person with a happy daughter.
But hard times followed, and Alphonsine would go on to tell locals her heating had been cut off and Loraine was not going to school, which had affected her benefits and ability to pay the bills.
A local business let her buy food on credit.
“Whenever she would get money she would clear her bill,” the employee said.
“Maybe £20 worth of items… just little meal for a few days.”
She would buy frozen food and dry items and what her daughter wanted, according to the staff member, who did not want to be named.
But it was winter, it was cold and she could not heat her home as December approached.
The house appeared unkempt and had signs of disrepair.
The shop worker said at this time, Alphonsine visited the store with a swollen face.
“I was asking, ‘are you ok? ‘What’s happening’? She said the cold is too much,” they said.
The inquest – which began on Monday at Nottingham Coroner’s Court – heard Alphonsine had begun to disengage with housing and social services in 2021, refusing access to her house.