A family’s holiday ended in tragedy when a mother-of-three choked to death before being found by her teen daughter just six weeks before her wedding day.
Bride-to-be Sophie Runkee, 34, and her fiancé Jj Warner, from Hull, had taken her three children – including their 11-week-old son – on a summer holiday to Turkey before Jj begins treatment for skin cancer.
The holiday was meant to give the young children the chance to create some happy memories together following Jj’s devastating cancer diagnosis, but their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trip became a nightmare after Sophie’s lifeless body was found on the balcony of their hotel apartment.
It is believed the mother, who did not have any travel insurance, had fallen unconscious after a night out and choked to death on her vomit.
Sophie and Jj had been enjoying the last-minute holiday with kids Alicia, 14, Tommy, nine, and baby Luca, but on July 11 Sophie and Alicia went out for some mother and daughter time, spending all night dancing together in the local bars while Ji stayed in with the boys.
Mother-of-three Sophie Runkee, 34, from Hull, was found dead on a Turkey balcony by her daughter, 14, following a night of ‘excessive drinking’
Sophie is believed to have fallen unconscious and choked to death on her vomit before her fiance attempted CPR
Jj said: ‘We were all having a great time on holiday in Turkey, we wanted the kids to remember this summer for the right reasons despite everything that’s going on.
‘Sophie went out on the Thursday evening. She was upset over my diagnosis so I encouraged her to go out with Alicia to blow off some steam while I looked after the boys. She just wanted to forget about everything and have a good night with her daughter’.
He revealed his soon-to-be-wife had an ‘excessive amount’ to drink before returning to the apartment, collapsing on the balcony, and choking on her vomit.
Tragically, it was Sophie’s teen daughter Alicia who first stumbled across her mother’s unresponsive body on the balcony.
In a desperate attempt to rescue Sophie’s life, Jj rushed over, cleared her airways, and began CPR.
He miraculously managed to bring her back, but any hope was short-lived as her pulse was weak and she had to be urgently dashed to hospital.
Devastatingly, there was nothing more the doctors could do to save Sophie’s life and she died just 24hours later.
Jj continued: ‘It’s difficult to put into words what has happened, we’re all still in shock. Sophie wasn’t just my wife[-to-be], she was my best friend.
Sophie’s fiance Jj Warner said the holiday was meant to be a ‘memory-making trip’ after he was diagnosed with skin cancer and is soon set to undergo treatment
‘We were together 24-hours-a-day, we were never ever ever apart. I don’t know what I will do without her,’ he said, calling her his ‘soul mate’ and ‘a phenomenal mother’.
‘We have both suffered quite abusive lives, so we understood each other on a level that nobody else can understand,’ he added.
Sophie and Jj were due to get married in Scotland in just six weeks after bringing the wedding forward following his skin cancer diagnosis.
Now, he is facing raising their family alone as well as battling cancer.
Jj said: ‘My only concern is looking after them kids – if I die they have got nobody. They have lost their mother, their world, while on holiday in a strange country and then in three weeks, I start cancer treatment. They don’t deserve any of this.
Sophie did not have any travel insurance and Jj is now faced with the unexpected hospital bills as well as the cost of getting Sophie’s body back home to Hull where she can be laid to rest.
Sophie’s best friend, Jenny Phillips, has set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to support Jj and the children.
Paying heartbreaking tribute to Sophie, Jj said: ‘My darling angel, the love of my life, nothing will never be the same.
‘You will be forever in our hearts, we will miss you forever, I will be laid to rest with you when it’s my time and we will be together again.
‘Until then I promise to take care of our babies for the rest of my life, and try and do as good a job as you did.
‘You will always be their mum, nobody will ever be able to take your place.’