‘Drug-overdose woman lived with constant pain’

A WOMAN who was unable to leave her house due to chronic pain illnesses was found dead by her mother after taking a prescription drug overdose.

Catherine Evans, 39, died on May 2 after being found unconscious by her mother, Lorna Thompson, at her home in Barry. An ambulance was called but Ms Evans was pronounced dead later that morning.

Ms Evans, who was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome at the age of 15, also suffered with conditions such as fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and functional abdominal pain syndrome, which left her bedridden for most of the day.

In the early hours of the day before her death Ms Evans left her home in Borough Avenue in a rare occurrence and was later found by her parents at 3am outside the post office in Holton Road, where she was being looked after by strangers who had become concerned for her welfare.

It later transpired that Ms Evans had taken amphetamines, which her mother described as a “miracle cure” which enabled her to get out of bed and do things she would normally be unable to do.

At an inquest hearing at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court on Thursday a statement was read out by Ms Evans’ mother.

She said that she and her daughter were “very close” and she told her everything. Sometimes she slept at Ms Evans’ house, where she had her own bedroom, in order to keep her company.

On May 2 Ms Thompson let herself into Ms Evans’ house with her own key in order to feed the cats. She went upstairs to find her daughter and found her lying on her right side. Ms Thompson said she was blue and cold to the touch and there were lots of empty medication packets.

She said: “I knew when I saw Catherine she was dead.”

Ms Thompson called Ms Evans’ father, Peter Evans, who told her to phone the police and ambulance. The emergency services attended but nothing could be done for her.

In her statement Ms Thompson said: “Catherine complained to me about her overall weight but accepted it due to her condition. She would have low points and she was fed up with the way she had to live her life but we would have a cuddle and she would get back to her normal self.”

Ms Thompson said she was aware Ms Evans had used amphetamines for recreational use and that her condition was worsening due to constant stomach pain. She wouldn’t eat much and would sometimes sleep all day, which was normal for her.

Prior to the day before her death the last time Ms Evans had left the house was in November 2017, when she had attended a doctor’s appointment with her father.

On May 1 former university student Ms Evans left her house in the early hours and was believed by her mother to have taken amphetamines.

She said: “I got dressed to go after Catherine, Peter was walking through the door. Peter and I got into the car and drove around Barry looking for her and he said he felt like she had taken something.

“We found her outside the post office in Holton Road and she was slumped up against a wall with two people with her who had contacted the police.

“We went back to her address but Catherine and I stayed in the livingroom, talking for an hour. She didn’t say she had taken speed but we both knew and I made her promise never to do it again.”

Following Ms Evans’ death a postmortem examination and toxicology test were carried out. It showed a small amount of amphetamine but a large amount of painkillers.

A cause of death was given as an overdose of painkillers.

In reaching his conclusion, assistant coroner Nadim Bashir said: “If I was to reach a conclusion of suicide it would mean I would have to be satisfied on the balance of all probabilities it was a deliberate act by Catherine Evans and she intended that deliberate act to have the consequences of her own death.

“There was a hugely excessive amount of painkillers either to combat the pain or to combat the symptoms of her complex medical history.

“I therefore find it was a deliberate act, although I can’t say she intended the consequence of ending her life. There is no evidence of a history of depression, there are no episodes of overdosing or trying to take her own life. There is powerful evidence to suggest she had no such thoughts.”

Mr Bashir reached a narrative conclusion.