The daughter of a woman killed in the Wiltshire novichok poisonings has told an inquiry into her death of her sadness that she never got to say goodbye to her.
In a statement read to the inquiry by Dawn Sturgess’s mother, Caroline Sturgess, the girl said: “Me and my mum had a bond that I will never forget. The day I heard she had fallen really ill was heartbreaking to hear.”
The girl, who was primary school-age at the time and cannot be named, continued: “In my mind I thought she would push through it because there was nothing my mum couldn’t handle.
“The day I heard everyone go to say their goodbyes when she was in intensive care was so upsetting. Shortly after she passed away. One thing I will never forget is due to my age I never saw her or got to say goodbye.”
Caroline Sturgess, a retired civil servant, paid tribute to Dawn on day two of the inquiry, which is being held at Salisbury Guildhall.
She said: “Dawn was the eldest of our four girls; a mother of three children herself. Now she would have been a grandmother but she will never have the absolute joy of meeting her first grandchild and doesn’t get to watch her grow.
“She was an intelligent, funny, extremely selfless and very kind person. She always cared deeply for her family and many friends that surrounded her. She did not judge a single person and strived to make others happy even when she didn’t feel like smiling herself.”
Caroline said Dawn had lived in a hostel for the last two years of her life. She said: “Dawn grasped this opportunity to address her issues, she was excited that it would be a new starting block for a fresh chapter. She remained in constant contact and was totally supported by us all.
“Dawn’s main priority continued to be the welfare of her children. Her youngest was always very excited to see her mum; I tried to take her in to see her as much as possible. Dawn always greeted her in the same manner – on her knees so she could run into her arms.”
Caroline Sturgess said the narrative around Dawn at the time of the poisonings had been “extremely distressing to everyone who personally knew her”. She said: “She was not a known drug user, as had initially been reported and then repeated.”
She continued: “I last spoke to my daughter on the evening before the incident. We spoke at length about the excitement she felt at the prospect of finally leaving the hostel. The final part of our conversation that night was discussing taking Dawn’s daughter to her the following day to spend time together: she was to ring me in the morning with a confirmed time for me to drop her off. It was pure chance that Dawn had sprayed herself with the novichok before her daughter arrived.
“Dawn’s death was a tragedy to us all, but the fact that her daughter was not killed as well is a solace we often revisit. We understand that the perfume bottle contained enough novichok to kill thousands of people. Again, although we are devastated by her death, our family find comfort that Dawn was the only life lost that day when the potential harm was much, much more. We know she would agree.”
The former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned by novichok on 4 March 2018 in Salisbury, where he had been settled after a spy exchange.
On 30 June 2018, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, fell ill at his home in Amesbury, 11 miles north of Salisbury, having been poisoned with novichok in a perfume bottle that Rowley had apparently found left in a bin. The Skripals and Rowley survived, but Sturgess died on 8 July.
Paul Mills, deputy chief constable of Wiltshire police, told the inquiry that after the poisoning of the Skripals, officers should have been given more help in recognising the symptoms caused by novichok, taking into account the possibility that the attackers may have left nerve agent behind.
He said: “I absolutely reflect that we didn’t put anything further out. Clearly police officers are trained in relation to generic responses but I do believe, in hindsight, it would have been sensible to have put some help and guidance out.”
The inquiry was told that initially it was suspected Sturgess and Rowley fell ill after an overdose involving a “bad batch” of drugs. Mills confirmed that after the poisoning there were two police records made describing the couple as “known drug users”. Mills said: “That is correct in relation to Charlie Rowley but it is not correct in relation to Dawn Sturgess.” He apologised to Sturgess’s family for what he called an “internal error”.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of counter-terrorism at the Metropolitan police, told the inquiry: “This was the first identified use of a chemical weapon in the UK. This was an unprecedented investigation.”
The inquiry continues.
