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Louth Leader
Published on the 28 January 2013
A Tetney woman who said she wanted to ‘fade away’ was found dead in her home with 30 tablets in her stomach, an inquest at Spilsby has heard. Louise Margaret East, of School Lane, was found dead in her home by a neighbour on September 21 last year, aged 38.
Miss East weighed just six stone and was existing on 300 calories per day in the run up to her death. Friend June Fuller went to Miss East’s house to deliver her some soup, but when there was no activity she became concerned for her wellbeing.
Mrs Fuller later went back and inside the house she found Miss East dead as well as open bottles of medication and paracetamol. Mrs Fuller explained how Miss East had ‘never had a job and was a single lady’, but noticed ‘no indication that she would harm herself’.
Miss East had a history of mental and physical problems and had no next of kin after a breakdown of the relationship with her mother. Deputy Coroner for West Lincolnshire Dick Marshall said the deceased had been sectioned under the mental health act and had a ‘complicated history’.
Dr Bodo, Physician at Harrison House in Grimsby where Miss East had spent some time in the months before her death, said the patient had ‘negative self worth’ and said she wanted to ‘fade away’. “She said she felt her life was over and not worth living,” the doctor’s statement to the inquest said. Despite this, Miss East denied any active suicide thoughts and her mood improved after buying a puppy on September 2.
Miss East suffered panic attacks when people came ‘too close’ and, according to Dr Bodo ‘refused to accept help’ including potential livesaving treatment. She was later moved to Pelham Lodge in Grimsby but was ‘low in mood’ and anxious.
Miss East was sadly found dead in her home and a post mortem carried out by Dr Richard Holman, pathologist at Nottingham’s Queens Medical Centre, showed she had at least 30 tablets in her stomach.
Miss East’s death was caused by cardio-respiratory failure as a result of a fatal dose of Venlafaxine, an anti-depressant she had been presribed as a result of her mental health problems.
Dick Marshall, the deputy coroner, said he ‘could not be satisfied’ that Miss East tried to take her own life as no suicide note had been left. Summing up, Dr Marshall described Miss East’s death as a ’sad case’ and recorded a verdict of non-dependant use of drugs.