Barmaid died of heart condition
A ‘LOVELY, bubbly’ barmaid from Fratton was not the victim of a drink-spiking as she had feared on the night of her death, as an inquest ruled that she died suddenly from a rare and undiagnosed heart condition.
Speaking at Portsmouth Coroners’ Court, Coroner Jason Pegg said that natural causes had led to the death of Cordelia Stemp – also known as Dee Skelton – who collapsed at her home in Westfield Road, Eastney, after a night-out at Hampshire Boulevard on November 11, 2021.
The much-missed member of the Portsmouth community was honoured by a huge crowd of more than 150 mourners at her funeral at St Mary’s Church in Fratton in December.
An inquest into the death of the 49-year-old barmaid, who had worked at The Lady Hamilton pub, was prompted due to concerns that her drink may have been spiked, with Dee’s final messages to a friend conveying her concern that she had been drugged.
Late last year saw a cluster of drink-spiking reports in Portsmouth, with 21 suspected instances in October 2021.
But forensic pathologist Dr Basil Purdue found no signs that Dee suffered from a spiked drink – but instead she had been the victim of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, a rare disorder that can cause sudden death in otherwise healthy, young people.
Dee’s daughter, Yolanda Stemp, said the inquest’s finding brought a sense of ‘relief’ that her mother – who ‘loved life and lived it to the fullest’ – had not been the victim of a malicious individual.
She said: ‘It’s obviously been very hard for us all. We haven’t had any chance to have closure until today.
‘We can finally start to move forward as a family .
‘It’s a relief it wasn't done by someone.’
The mum-of-two had complained of heart palpitations and chest pains the year before her death – but an ECG scan after a doctor’s appointment showed no cause for alarm.
Yolanda said: ‘She wasn't one of those people to make a fuss. She didn’t like to be made a fuss of.’
Dr Purdue ‘strongly suggested’ that Dee's blood relatives undergo a screening for the rare heart condition.
An autopsy also showed that Dee had taken cocaine on the night of her death, with the drug possibly contributing to her death by placing strain on her heart, according to the forensic pathologist.
Coroner Jason Pegg said that Dee was clearly missed as a ‘lovely woman’ and a ‘wonderful mother’.
Addressing Yolanda and her brother Freddy, the coroner said: ‘You have my sincere condolences.
‘You will have no doubt the most fond memories of your mother.’
Speaking outside Portsmouth Coroners’ Court, close family friend Paul Beaumont said he would never fully recover from the shock of Dee no longer being a part of his life.
The 68-year-old said: 'She was exactly like Yolanda said.
‘She would do anything for you.
‘I will never get that sense of closure, because she made my life so happy.
‘I feel that I'm living a useless life now.’