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Partying barmaid died after night of cocaine and booze
Inquest told recreational drug user had taken seven times the lethal dose
A BARMAID died of a massive cocaine overdose at a Finsbury house party after taking seven times the lethal amount of the drug, an inquest has heard.
Mitzi Marshall, 27, had spent the evening sniffing cocaine from one of three wraps she kept in her bra during a night of partying that took her from her friend’s home in Essex to a nearby hotel and ending up in a house in Dingley Road, Finsbury.
Partygoers described seeing Ms Marshall cutting up an extra thick line of cocaine with a credit card just seconds before she had a fit.
Part-time bar supervisor Ms Marshall, from Chingford, Essex, died at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel in March this year.
Asked at the St Pancras inquest last Thursday if he knew Ms Marshall took drugs, her brother, Anthony De-Rocha, said: “Recreationally, I knew she had taken marijuana but I’ve never known her to take anything stronger.”
Paramedic John McAlister, of London Ambulance Service, found her lying on her back at the party, surrounded by about six people.
He said: “One of the males said she had been drinking heavily and using cocaine. There was evidence of lots of empty bottles. She was in cardiac and respiratory arrest.”
Toxicology reports showed Ms Marshall had 3.7 grams of cocaine in her blood, more than seven times the amount associated with serious toxicity.
She also had more than the legal driving limit of alcohol in her blood. The cause of death was given as mixed alcohol and cocaine toxicity.
Detective Sergeant Adam Rodger, of Islington police, said Ms Marshall had been partying with a work colleague, Lucy Hickford. She had gone to Ms Hickford’s home before moving on to a party at the Holiday Inn in Chingford.
He said Ms Hickford told police: “She was taking it [cocaine] during the evening from three separate bags of white powder she kept in her bra. She was taking it on her fingernail and snorting it.”
He said witnesses at the house party said Ms Hickford and Ms Marshall were playing drinking games and using cocaine.
DS Rodger added: “Ms Marshall was cutting up the cocaine using a credit card. Lucy described her taking a longer line, double what she would usually take, and shortly after she collapsed.”
Coroner Dr Andrew Reid said: “It appears Ms Marshall voluntarily took a larger-than-usual dose, a longer line was cut on the table, and inhaled and started fitting.
“On the evidence, it appears Ms Marshall had become a recreational drug user. There’s no evidence she was habitually addicted to drugs. There’s no evidence she tried to take her own life.”
Verdict: misadventure. |
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