A key worker described as an "excellent mum" died suddenly after accidentally overdosing on medication, an inquest has heard. Katie Irene Wasley died on August 26, 2021, after being found unresponsive in bed by her partner Sam Bradley Richards.
An inquest held at Pontypridd Coroners' Court on Friday heard Ms Wasley had been to a party at her friend's house the previous night and Mr Richards picked her and their daughter up during the early hours of the morning before returning to their Rhondda home.
The couple met in 2010 when Ms Wasley was working as a nurse in Llwynypia Hospital and they had been in a relationship ever since. In a statement provided to the coroner Mr Richards said: "Our relationship was loving and we had many holidays away and we went onto have a daughter."
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The hearing was told Ms Wasley contracted Covid-19 in 2020 and was unwell for around four days but seemed to develop symptoms associated with epilepsy months later as she started having seizures. Mr Richards said: "Before Covid-19 she had no symptoms of epilepsy."
Ms Wasley also experienced anxiety and depression following the deaths of her mother and her grandmother. She was prescribed medication to aid with this. Mr Richards said despite this her partner always remained strong and continued to work as a nurse. He said: "She was an excellent mother and we would always spend time together as a family. She would go out with her friends maybe once every two months."
Mr Richards said when he picked her up from her friend's house during the early hours of August 26, 2021 she had consumed alcohol but he said he had seen her "a lot worse in the past." He said: "She seemed to be happy and she was bubbly."
He said she didn't drink anymore alcohol when they arrived back at their home, at Morgan Terrace, Porth, but she did eat some pizza before they went to bed at around 4am. When he woke up at around 11am he found his partner to be unresponsive and he feared she may have died.
Mr Richards said: "I had no concerns when we went to bed – there was nothing to suggest there was anything massively wrong with Katie." When he woke up he found his partner to be "cold to the touch." Mr Richards immediately called for an ambulance and they advised him to start performing CPR before the team arrived at around 11.15am. Medics later confirmed she had died. "I was in shock. I was devastated," added Mr Richards. "It was surreal and I never thought something like that was going to happen."
PC David Morgan, of South Wales Police, confirmed he visited the scene after the force were alerted a woman had died following reports of a cardiac arrest. He said there were no signs there had been a disturbance at the property. A post-mortem examination report provided by Dr Dan Hopkins revealed a number of drugs were detected in Ms Wasley's system. Codeine was found at a level associated with fatalities while the amount of paracetamol detected was also in line with amounts associated with overdose.
A "significant overdose" of pregabalin was also discovered and propranolol and ethanol were also found to be in Ms Wasley's system. There was no indication that she had suffered a seizure so the medical cause of death was proposed as multiple drug toxicity.
Assistant coroner for South Wales Central Patricia Morgan accepted this finding when making her conclusion. Ms Morgan said: "My findings are Katie Irene Wasley, aged 36, was discovered unresponsive at home by her partner on August 26. There is no evidence to suggest that Katie intended to end her own life. Katie's death was that of a drug-related death. I wish to take the opportunity to express my condolences to you all at this time."
