A SCHOOLGIRL was found dead in her bed just hours after telling her mum she felt “really sick”, an inquest heard.
Bethany Tricia Brown, 13, had missed school after complaining she felt unwell and had been vomiting.
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She went into her mum Phillipa’s room at around 2am, saying: “Mum, I feel really sick.”
The inquest heard Phillipa asked her daughter if she wanted to stay in her bed but the youngster returned to her own room.
Bethany was tragically found dead by her sister Victoria, who had popped over to go shopping with their mum.
Preston Coroner’s Court was told blister packs containing her Phillipa’s painkillers were found by the schoolgirl’s bed.
Toxicology reports later confirmed Bethany died from the combined effects of the prescription medication.
But area coroner Simon Long said he could not be sure of what Bethany’s intention was when she took the tablets.
He also said there was nothing found that suggested she had intended to cause herself harm.
The court was told Bethany had fallen ill with the tummy bug on March 19 this year.
She had eaten dinner in the kitchen with her mum and sister, who later went back home.
When Victoria returned the following morning, she found Bethany tucked up under her quilt with her thumb resting on her lip as if she had been sucking it.
Emergency crews were scrambled to the home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, but the teen was declared dead at the scene.
Recording a narrative conclusion, the coroner said: “Bethany died as a result of the combination of the medication which she had ingested but it has not been possible to determine what Bethany intended when taking that medication.”
Paying tribute to her “funny and bubbly” sister, Victoria said: “Bethany lived in Bethany’s world and it was perfect.”
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