A grieving family have paid an emotional tribute to a loving mother who was tragically found dead in the street the day before her 40th birthday.
Emma Louise Brown, 39, was discovered by a young mum who was taking her children to school on November 24, 2020.
Emma had been at the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby the night before after she had taken ill, however, she was discharged in the early hours of the morning, Grimsby Live reports.
Emergency services, including the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance, had attended the scene following the discovery of her body.
According to CCTV footage, the last known sighting of Emma was a recording of her walking down the road in the direction of Pasture Street, Grimsby.
Family members and friends attended an inquest into her death held at Cleethorpes Town Hall where emotions ran high as they continue to grieve for the young mum-of-one. A post mortem examination revealed she had died after taking the synthetic cannabinoid called spice.
The inquest heard from Emma's brother, Christopher Paduch, who had been the last family member to see her alive.
Paying tribute to his sister, he said: "She was always happy and the only family member who always had their door open to me." He told the inquest he believes Emma's problems began when she had moved into a flat her first flat six years ago.
He said the flat was uninhabitable and full of mould. He also stated that Emma became involved with a man who used the flat with his friends to take drugs and Spice, which Emma also began to take. He said she had started to act "odd and became confused."
In 2020, she moved to St Luke's Court, where she started suffering with depression, was not herself and had even gone nine days without being able to hold down any water.
The evening before her death, Emma told her brother she was off to sort something. He later found her outside the flats and she was laid down kicking her legs. At 11.30pm, he called her an ambulance and she was taken to Grimsby hospital.
The inquest heard the last thing he ever said to his sister was that he'd be waiting for her when she came home from hospital, but he would sadly never see Emma again.
Whilst in A&E, doctors discovered what appeared to be signs of former intravenous drug use and said Emma became agitated and confused. She was eventually allowed to go home on the condition to come back if she fell ill again.
The inquest heard from Louise Bird who had discovered Emma's body in the driveway of a house on Heneage Road, Grimsby.
At 7.55am on November 24, Louise said she was walking her young children to school when one said 'Mummy, there is a lady sleeping there'. After walking back to the area, she discovered Emma's body. Ms Bird carried out CPR for around 20 minutes before paramedics arrived.
Diane Moncaster, the first paramedic on scene, said she arrived at Heneage Road at 8.23am and attempted to save Emma's life. Sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The inquest heard from Beth Mottram, service manager at the addiction help group We Are With You who said Emma had accessed help over the years as she was struggling with addiction.
A month before her death she had told the group she was using different substances. She did not complete any treatment despite numerous attempts from the team to get into contact with her.
The inquest heard an initial post mortem could not ascertain the cause of death. There had been a delay of around a year in providing a second toxicology report for the pathologist, in order for the post-mortem examination report to be concluded.
The inquest heard the name on the toxicology report was in relation to a person of another name, Emma Woods. After clarification, Coroner Marianne Johnson apologised for the confusion confirming that there had indeed been a mistake on the report.
The amended toxicology report showed the sign of two different legal highs - 4F Abutinaca and MDMB Pinaca - otherwise known as Spice. The official cause of death was recorded as Spice toxicity and that Emma died following drug abuse.
Melinda Vincent, Emma's mother, then suggested that the information was wrong and walked out the hearing.
After the inquest, Emma's auntie, Joanne Mason, paid tribute to her niece. She said: "She was such a loving soul who was very family orientated and we are very proud of what she achieved."
Emma's mother, Melinda, has vehemently denied that the use of Spice is what killed her daughter and explained that she disagrees with the conclusion of the inquest. She has previously said Emma had feared for her life after several attacks on her home.
She said after the inquest: "I'm mad, stressed and incredibly upset about what's happened. She was beautiful inside and out and she's been made to look like a tramp. Emma would do anything for anyone and had a lot of respect for the elderly, the vulnerable and children. It was a difficult life for her and she never deserved to be treated this way.
"It's been such a terrible time and as a result I can't have one single picture up around my house of her because it reminds me of the abuse she's faced. I've fought this for three years and I was hoping it would be over with today, but that doesn't seem to be the case."
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