‘Stressed’ coroner died from huge dose of morphine
A SEniOR coroner broken by ill health and stress killed herself with morphine, an inquest heard yesterday.
Professor Jennifer leeming was a highly respected coroner who championed ‘Clare’s law’, which lets people find out whether a new partner has a history of domestic violence.
last year the 69-year-old became convinced her high-pressure job was causing her to suffer heart palpitations.
Her stress levels further soared on learning that staff at her Manchester office had gone to a local newspaper with complaints about her conduct.
Her gP signed her off work for four weeks but the following day her husband, Michael Turner, discovered she had died in the night.
Her heart condition was blamed until toxicology tests revealed that she had swallowed a large quantity of morphine.
She had mentioned having access to the drug during a conversation with a nurse given an MBE for her work on end-of-life care. in a statement to yesterday’s inquest, Fiona Murphy said they were ‘discussing ways to die’ during a 2017 train trip.
Professor leeming said in case of long-term illness ‘she had a vial of morphine from a retired gP and she would use that’. Mrs Murphy said: ‘i didn’t consider it serious or challenge it.’ Professor leeming had been given opioid medication, tramadol and codeine, after a knee replacement in 2015, the inquest heard. Her husband, who is a retired investment broker, told the hearing in Chester that he had found no evidence of morphine in their house in Alderley Edge. Robert Flanagan, a professor of toxicology, said the morphine reading was one of the highest he had seen. Police could not determine where the drug came from and tests showed no sign of any heart problems.
Alan Walsh, a coroner colleague of Professor leeming, said she had initially seemed untroubled by the complaints made against her but later changed tack and discussed early retirement. ‘She said she didn’t have the fight in her,’ he said. ‘She was a broken lady.’
He said nothing was found to support the complaints. Sally Ann Hales, a consultant pathologist, gave the medical cause of the death on January 3 as morphine toxicity with underlying ‘heart valve incompetence’.
Alan Moore, senior coroner for Cheshire, recorded a conclusion of suicide at the hearing attended by eight current or former members of his profession.
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