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Death of mum ‘who looked possessed’ remains mystery
A CORONER has admitted to being baffled by the death of a 22-year-old mother.
Amanda Saunders suffered a fit in a bathroom at a flat in Highbury Quadrant, Highbury, in February, according to witnesses who gave evidence at a St Pancras inquest. Ms Saunders’ boyfriend, one of the last people to see her alive, was called to give evidence at the inquest but did not attend.
Under law, a coroner can adjourn an inquest if a witness fails to attend and can hold a missing witness in contempt of court. Court staff confirmed he had been asked to attend. They could not explain his absence
Police conducted an investigation into Ms Saunders’ death after logs showed they had been called to the flat previously over “verbal arguments”.
On the day she died, Ms Saunders had been celebrating with her boyfriend after he passed his driving test. She drank a quarter of a bottle of vodka and took a small quantity of cocaine.
Her boyfriend’s sister, Michelle Bretao, reading from a statement she gave to police three days after the death, said she had been looking after children – including Ms Saunders’ – in a flat below when she first became aware something was wrong.
She told the court she ran to an upstairs flat where Ms Saunders and her brother had been drinking after she heard him screaming.
Describing what she saw on entering, she said: “Amanda was shaking like she was having a fit.
“My brother was trying to hold her down but he couldn’t. She was bouncing off the walls. She looked possessed. Blood was coming out of her mouth.”
The court heard Ms Saunders’ boyfriend had kicked in the bathroom door after suspecting she was unwell inside the locked room.
Ms Saunders’ heart stopped on the way to hospital but, despite being resuscitated, she died later that night at Whittington Hospital in Archway.
PC Dave Jones said police had been called to the flat in the past over “verbal arguments” but that “no crimes of a domestic nature had been reported there”.
Coroner’s officer Shir Duff, referring to a report written by Detective Inspector Sarah Gray, said: “There was documentation of minor domestic disputes in the past but this time police found no evidence of violence.
“They had no evidence to go on.”
The cause of her death could not be determined by pathologist Dr Freddie Patel, who found no marks of violence or anything “remarkable” about her major organs.
Coroner Dr Andrew Reid, who recorded an open verdict, said: “Despite investigations by police and medics I am unable to reach any conclusion.
“However, the circumstances are non-suspicious and there is no evidence she was the victim of any criminal assault or violence.
“Nothing untoward has contributed to her death.” |
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