Tragic mum played ‘Russian roulette with sleeping pills’
A MOTHER of three who struggled to sleep accidentally killed herself with a lethal cocktail of prescription pills.
Katrina Glynn, 34, swallowed a powerful mix of tablets including paracetamol and temazepam in what was branded a ‘game of chemical Russian roulette’.
The former healthcare worker suffered from insomnia and severe anxiety and was struggling to cope while her new boyfriend, an oil rig worker, was away.
An inquest heard she had been looking forward to his return but was found dead on the sofa at her Bolton home by her niece on August 3.
Tests showing she had morphinebased painkillers, beta-blockers and anti-depressants in her system. Coroner Tim Brennand ruled out suicide and warned of the dangers of taking too much prescription medication.
Recording a conclusion of drugrelated death, he said: ‘Sadly [Miss Glynn] was consumed in a battle with her demons and at the age of 34, this truly was a tragedy as she was described as a fighter showing potential, with a vigour and zest for life.
‘I do not believe this was suicide as she was making arrangements for her boyfriend’s arrival and she was looking forward to plans with her family the following weekend.’
Mr Brennand said the cocktail of medication had a ‘profound effect’. ‘These were not illicit, or street, drugs, they were prescribed medica- tion,’ he said. ‘The real danger is in relation to the use of medication that has the potential to kill.
‘Some people may feel they have complete control in understanding their effects but this is a case of someone living in a game of chemical Russian roulette.’ The Bolton hearing was told Miss Glynn had a personality disorder as well as a history of severe anxiety and post-natal depression, for which she took a number of different prescribed medications. She became a hospital healthcare worker in 2010 but left three years later when she became pregnant with her third child.
The inquest heard how her boyfriend’s long absences through work further aggravated her mental health issues, but she had been ‘happy and excited’ about him coming home.
Her mother Janet Glynn, 58, told how on the day before her death, Miss Glynn was ‘really looking forward’ to his return and seemed ‘absolutely fine’.
Mrs Glynn said she became concerned about her daughter the next morning when she didn’t reply to texts. She said: ‘We then got the call from the police.
‘ She would never do this on purpose, she loved her children so much and she was worried about what would happen to them if she ever died. I don’t think she intended to take her own life. I think this was an accident.
‘She struggled to sleep a lot. We knew she had an addictive personality. She was really looking forward to her boyfriend coming home and had tidied everywhere for his return. She didn’t plan to do this, she never expressed suicide or self harm.’
Psychiatrist Matthew Miller, who treated Miss Glynn, said: ‘She said she had a good relationship with her children and I don’t believe she was suicidal and she didn’t show signs of self harm. She just wanted to sleep.’
Pathologist Emil Salmo carried out a toxicology report which showed Miss Glynn had ‘three forms’ of morphine in her blood as well as paracetamol, propranolol, cyclizine, citalopram, pronaxen and temazepam.
‘She just wanted to sleep’