My girl may have been forced to be drugs mule, says grieving mother
THE mother of a law student found dead in a hotel room in Ibiza has suggested her daughter may have been forced into becoming a drug mule.
Rebecca Brock, 18, died after a bag of Ecstasy exploded in her stomach, a court heard yesterday.
She was discovered with a pool of blood next to her head in a hotel room after travelling to the island for a friend’s birthday.
Nottingham coroners’ court heard staff found the “academically gifted” student unresponsive in her room at the Hotel Marco Polo on Sept 28 last year. Spanish police began an investigation after it was found the amount of the class-a drug in her system was “double the level” of a normal fatal dose.
Margarita Brock, her mother, told the inquest she believed her daughter may have been forced to swallow the bag of drugs. Fighting back tears, she said her daughter would not have willingly taken the pills because she was unable to swallow tablets.
Mrs Brock revealed how her daughter had openly talked about experimenting with cocaine in the past but said she did believe she would have taken so much Ecstasy in one go.
Giving evidence, she said: “She tried cocaine with people she knew. She said to her sister afterwards that she didn’t like it, so she didn’t have to worry. She was very clear about what she let into her body and what she didn’t.
“It was my understanding that there had been found material removed from her abdomen. It was described as a body pack.
“The medical examiner said a bag exploded. The major crime squad were investigating rather than the police because of how she was found.
“She wouldn’t take any pills easily – I can’t imagine that getting in her body at all. If she didn’t have to take a pill she wouldn’t because she couldn’t swallow it. I can’t see any other way than someone making that happen. The court heard Miss Brock, of Nottingham, had also suffered from body image issues in the past and lost a significant amount of weight in 2015.
Mrs Brock said: “Becky would tell me difficult things – she was quite open about the drugs, it was the weight issues she was less keen to talk about.”
The inquest heard the 18-year-old was was studying at Tilburg University in the Netherlands at the time of her death. Recording a conclusion of a drug-related death, Mairin Casey, the Nottinghamshire coroner, said: “Becky’s parents, Margo and Martin, dearly cared for her.
“She was academically gifted and was clearly cherished by her friends and family. She was well-travelled with her family and had impressive results in her A-levels. She moved away from home when she went to study in the Netherlands.
“On this trip to Ibiza nobody actually saw Becky take drugs at the time – that is my understanding. What is plain is that nobody can give an explanation as to how this came into her system.”
Dr Stephen Morley, the toxicologist, said Spanish authorities had found that Becky had died around 48 hours before she was found in her room.
He said traces of alcohol and a “potentially fatal concentration” of Ecstasy were found in her body.
He added: “The Spanish toxicologist detected 0.54g per litre of alcohol in Becky’s system. It would be consistent with Becky having a few drinks on the evening of Sept 22. There is certainly evidence of a broken bag.
“She would have died around half an hour from when (Ecstasy) entered her blood stream to when she died – that is working on the assumption that she has never taken it before. She would probably begin to feel very unwell.
“There was evidence of an acute MDMA dosage – a potentially fatal concentration. The most likely cause of death is Ecstasy toxicity. The level of MDMA was double the reported fatal level.” Dr Derek Robson, the pathologist, added: “The blood next to her head doesn’t lead me to believe she suffered trauma. It is likely that death occurred a few hours after the package burst.”