Essex man hopes to track down dad after finding mum dead

Steven Smith, 43, finally tracked down Daphne Morfydd Jones in 2021 - 41 years after he was born.

But when he turned up after her house he found the 62-year-old slumped on the bathroom floor.

Steven, a security officer, hasn't given up hope of tracing his family tree and now wants to meet his dad - for "closure".

He believes his dad was called Frank and was in prison when he was born in February 1980 - but doesn't know much more.

Steven and his adopted mother (Image: SWNS)

Steven, a dad-of-four himself who lives in Essex, said: "I just want to find out who I am and where I've come from - and finally get my answers."

Born in St David's Hospital, South Wales, Steven says he and his mum moved to London to live with his nan.

But he was placed into foster care shortly after.

Steven said: "In December that year I was adopted to a young couple who had no children - but my adopted father left when I was around five.

"Growing up my adopted mother remarried, had some children and then we settled into Essex life."

It was while living in Essex Steven met his wife, and they had four children together.

Stephen with his wife and kids (Image: SWNS)

But Steven admits he was always wanting to find out who his biological family were.

He said: "I spent years looking - and I was hoping for a miracle."

His prayers then started to be answered in 2020 when he took an ancestry DNA test - and discovered his half-brother lived half an hour away.

This led to his discovery that Steven also had a half-sister, who was aware of his biological mum's location.

Stephen with his half sister (Image: SWNS)

This led to the discovery of his late mum's body on March 9, 2021.

Steven said: "We were still in Covid restrictions, so I tried to call the housing company first to check on her, as no one had heard from her for a while.

"They said everything was fine, but I had a feeling something wasn't right.

"I took my eldest daughter with me and we drove to Mum's flat in Bethnal Green.

"When we got there, I saw big piles of letters - but there was no answer when we knocked on the front door.

"My daughter said the door was unlocked, but I would never enter anyone's premises without their permission.

"It was getting really dark and I'm calling Mum's name, but there's no reply so I got worried and thought I was going to have to enter

"I saw her bed covers were ruffled, walked through to the kitchen, turned my head to see if she was OK - but she was there in the bathroom, dead.

"I turned and ran out in a panic, told my daughter and called 999 - I was having a panic attack and was just hoping it wasn't her, but I still felt awful - all these emotions going through my head."

The police arrived to the scene shortly after and confirmed the identity of the woman was indeed Steven's mum.

Steven's biological mother, Daphne (Image: SWNS)

She was cremated later that same month, with Steven organising the service and carrying the coffin alongside his new-found half-siblings.

Since finding more of his family, he discovered he is the eldest of eight children - as Daphne had another three girls and four boys in the years after he had been born.

Now, Steven hopes to complete his DNA journey and find his long-lost dad - to "find the last piece, gain closure, and finally get my answers".

He said: "I just want to try and find the last bit and locate my dad's identity and find out who I am and where I've come from.

"The only information I have is close matches through DNA, but none of them know who my dad is.

"I have various different cousins and family all over the place.

"I have one letter which is a pre-adoption report, which tells me my dad went by the name of Frank and at the time of my birth he was in prison.

"I don't know the full story - but I have some family in Wales, some in America on my Dad's side, family in Kent - they are dotted around all over the place."

Steven now wants to meet his dad - for closure (Image: SWNS)

Steven admits he wants to share his journey to help him obtain closure, but also support other people going through the same pain - as he does not believe there is a large support network for the adopted community.

He added: "I don't think there's much support for adopted people.

"You are just adopted and that is it - you are not really given much else.

"I only found out about all these tools to find my biological family through my own research.

"There is not a lot of thorough support offered for people who are adopted, and I think that needs to change."