A mum and son who were found dead in their beds were described as "two gentle souls."
Jenny Smith, 37, and her 17-year-old son Joseph died at their home on Marmion Road near Sefton Park on February 22. An inquest into their death held at Gerard Majella Court on Thursday, September 15, heard how Jenny and Joseph were found dead two days after concerns were raised by a family member who hadn't heard from them for several days.
Toxicology tests showed the pair had both died from a massive overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. Since hearing the tragic news this week, dozens of people have paid tribute to Jenny and Joseph.
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Joanne Davies said: "RIP Joseph forever 17."
Yvonne Owens said: "How sad hope you’re both at peace now."
Pam Humphreys said: "Two gentle souls back with your lovely mum and nan forever. R.I.P Jennifer, Joseph, Jean."
Lynsey Molyneux said: "RIP Joseph such a lovely lad back in the arms of your beautiful nan Jean, still heartbroken."
Kathryn Holford said: "RIP Joe, what a lovely, gentle soul Xx."
Marie Walker said: "Aw this has broke my heart, RIP to both."
At their inquest, coroner Anita Bhardwaj said the tragic deaths of both mum and son raised questions that would likely never be answered.
She said: "We don't know what has happened. There appears to be a piece of the jigsaw that is missing, that we are never going to know, and the only people who did know are Jenny and Joseph.
"There are so many unanswered questions."
Jenny, a former victim support worker, was last seen by a neighbour at around 10am on February 18, in the communal area of the flat block where she lived with her son. On February 20, Jenny's dad, Malcolm Smith, who lives in America, called Merseyside Police and asked them to check on his family, as he had not heard from them for several days.
Police visited the property on February 20 and 21, but nobody came to the door. Phone calls to both Jenny and Joseph's mobile phones also went unanswered. When officers returned at 11am on February 22 and found that a note they had posted to Jenny the previous day had not been touched, they forced entry to the flat, and found the bodies of both Jenny and Joseph.
Jenny was found under a duvet in the main bedroom, while Joseph was found on a makeshift bed on the living room floor.
Jenny's dad Malcolm said: "It was very much a shock to me that they had even touched anything like (fentanyl) because they were very much against drug use. Jenny in particular was the kind of person who wouldn't take anything that wasn't prescribed to her.
"Jenny was quite happy-go-lucky; she enjoyed life. She didn't get out as much as she could because she suffered from gout. She did mix with people though, she wasn't a total loner.
"Joseph was exactly the same, very happy-go-lucky, very studious. He looked after his nan when she was not well.
"They were both good, ordinary people. It was a complete and utter shock to me that they should take fentanyl."
The court heard that no evidence of suspicious circumstances had been found either at the scene or during the post-mortem examinations. Neither Jenny nor Joseph had any known history of drug use. Jenny had previously suffered from psychotic episodes and Gilbert's syndrome.
Handing down a narrative conclusion, Ms Bhardwaj said: "It's unclear as to why Jenny and her son consumed an excessive amount of the drug that was not prescribed to them."
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