Heartbreak as couple die in mattress along with optimistic being pregnant check laid beside them
Claire White, 32, and Mark Martin Sinton, 42, were found unresponsive at home
A couple were found dead in bed together with a positive pregnancy test beside them, an inquest has heard. Claire White, 32, was staying with her long-term partner Mark Martin Sinton, 42, when they were found by Mark’s mother.
The pair, who shared four children and had been together for 17 years, were found lying on top of each other in a state of undress, Sheffield Coroners Court heard.
Emergency services were scrambled on February 21 after Mark’s mother raised the alarm at around 3.15pm, but tragically they were pronounced dead at 4.16pm.
South Yorkshire Police were called and officers found a positive pregnancy test at the scene, as well as a crack pipe and other drug paraphernalia.
An inquest into their deaths, held on Wednesday, heard how Claire and Mark had a history of IV-drug use, including heroin, cocaine and methadone, Yorkshire Live reports.
Assistant Coroner Nathalie James told the court the couple, who lived with Mark’s mother in Barnsley, South Yorks., had returned home from the town centre at around 5pm the previous afternoon.
They did not speak to Mark’s mother but went upstairs where they slept and she made the heartbreaking find the next day when she realised their coats had not moved.
In her statement to the court, Mark’s mother said: “Mark had been in a relationship with Claire since 2007, and they had four children together. Mark has been in and out of prison since 16 and was a heavy drug user. They came to live with me after my husband died several years ago.”
The court heard Mark’s mother found the pair lying on the floor in a state of undress when she went to check on them. She told the court: “I went back into the room at around 3.15pm and found them. I shouted at them, but they didn’t respond. I knew they were dead. I didn’t see their faces.”
The hearing, at Sheffield Medico Legal Centre, heard extensive forensic post-mortems were carried out on both Claire and Mark. The coroner ruled that both had died from Heroin, Cocaine and Methadone toxicity, although it was “impossible to tell” who died first.
She said that both had consumed heroin, cocaine and methadone before their deaths, which had a combined toxic effect and caused their deaths.
Concluding the inquest, Mrs James said: “Based upon the evidence I have read and considered in detail, I am minded to consider a drug-related death. There was a long-established dependence on drugs, which was supported by the toxicology reports.”
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