Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
Mystery over sudden death of Bristol woman
Friday, April 02, 2010, 07:00
Mystery surrounds the death of a 43-year-old woman who collapsed on her bed at home after complaining she had been unwell with flu.
An inquest heard Karen Simmonds had been dead for two days before she was found by a concerned colleague who had called round to her bungalow in Patchway on November 28, 2008.
The part-time sales assistant at Holland & Barrett in Cribbs Causeway had rung her workplace a few days earlier to say she was poorly.
An inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner's Court was told the cause of death could not be established.
Pathologist Hugh White, of Southmead Hospital, said there were no signs that Ms Simmonds had been injured.
A post-mortem examination revealed Ms Simmonds, who took prescribed medication for depression, was about to develop a chest infection and that she had experienced four days of fever, vomiting and abdominal pain before her death. Mr White suggested Ms Simmonds might have collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heart rhythm.
He said: "Whether this was triggered by a virus, there's no way of proving it. It looks like it was a relatively sudden death."
Ms Simmonds was last seen alive by her work colleague, Amanda Withey, at 6.30pm on November 25. When Ms Withey called round to her home on November 28 to check she was OK, she called the emergency services when she looked through a window and noticed Ms Simmonds had collapsed.
The inquest heard police forced their way into Ms Simmonds' home in Gloucester Road at 4pm and found her on the bed. Officers told the inquest said there had been no sign of a break in or a struggle taking place in the property.
Assistant deputy coroner Tony Woodburn said: "I will record an open verdict because there is more than one possibility for the cause of death.
"I would like to thank Amanda Withey for trying to keep in contact with Ms Simmonds while she was ill."
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/home...tol-woman/article-1966688-detail/article.html
Friday, April 02, 2010, 07:00
Mystery surrounds the death of a 43-year-old woman who collapsed on her bed at home after complaining she had been unwell with flu.
An inquest heard Karen Simmonds had been dead for two days before she was found by a concerned colleague who had called round to her bungalow in Patchway on November 28, 2008.
The part-time sales assistant at Holland & Barrett in Cribbs Causeway had rung her workplace a few days earlier to say she was poorly.
An inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner's Court was told the cause of death could not be established.
Pathologist Hugh White, of Southmead Hospital, said there were no signs that Ms Simmonds had been injured.
A post-mortem examination revealed Ms Simmonds, who took prescribed medication for depression, was about to develop a chest infection and that she had experienced four days of fever, vomiting and abdominal pain before her death. Mr White suggested Ms Simmonds might have collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heart rhythm.
He said: "Whether this was triggered by a virus, there's no way of proving it. It looks like it was a relatively sudden death."
Ms Simmonds was last seen alive by her work colleague, Amanda Withey, at 6.30pm on November 25. When Ms Withey called round to her home on November 28 to check she was OK, she called the emergency services when she looked through a window and noticed Ms Simmonds had collapsed.
The inquest heard police forced their way into Ms Simmonds' home in Gloucester Road at 4pm and found her on the bed. Officers told the inquest said there had been no sign of a break in or a struggle taking place in the property.
Assistant deputy coroner Tony Woodburn said: "I will record an open verdict because there is more than one possibility for the cause of death.
"I would like to thank Amanda Withey for trying to keep in contact with Ms Simmonds while she was ill."
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/home...tol-woman/article-1966688-detail/article.html