A MAN and woman who had taken drugs and were later discovered dead in a Workington flat “may have suffered shared loss” after both losing their brothers.

Kellyann Laurie, 46, and Joseph Dunn, 35, were found by police in the property at Newlands Gardens in Workington on September 13, 2022.

The inquests into their deaths held at Cockermouth Coroners’ Court on Thursday, heard a statement from the police officer who attended Kellyann’s flat on the day they were found.

The officer said he had been conducting missing person enquiries for Joseph Dunn.

He had spoken to Kellyann’s neighbour, who said she had been on holiday but hadn’t heard her in the property since she had returned.

The officer decided he needed to enter Kellyann’s property and additional officers then attended.

Entry was gained through a window and the bodies of a man and woman were found on the floor.

The TV was switched on and there was drug paraphernalia on the table. There was also a cannister of butane gas.

The inquests heard that they may have been deceased for a couple of days before they were found.

In the months leading up to her death, Kellyann had been trying to engage with mental health and drug and alcohol services.

She had reported drinking three litres of cider a day and would drink Jack Daniels and vodka on top of this.

She had recently lost her brother to suicide and “felt like her world had been turned upside down”.

Her mother Barbara told the inquest: “She had enough of all of it and wanted to make a change. She knew she couldn’t do it on her own.”

Kellyann’s daughter, Lauren, said her mother had always had alcohol and drugs problems and she believed a lot of people took advantage of her and her vulnerability.

In the years leading up to his death, Joseph had suffered with mental health issues and had been in touch with the crisis team.

He was referred to drug and alcohol services several times, but didn’t engage.

His family said he could never accept that he had problems with drugs. He would abuse drugs for a few days and “be on a high” and his mood would then decline.

On September 6, he had attended A&E after taking an overdose.

His brother had died suddenly and he had lost a number of other family members over the years.  He had a close relationship with his mother.

A toxicology report revealed Kellyann had a “minimal” amount of alcohol but a large number of drugs, including heroin, in her system.

The medical cause of death for Kellyann was morphine overdose in combination with other drugs.

A toxicology report for Joseph revealed a “very small” amount of alcohol but a range of different substances had been taken, including heroin and some of his prescribed medication.

The medical cause of death for Joseph was the toxic effects of morphine in combination with other respiratory depressants.

Coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw concluded that both deaths were drug-related.

In his concluding statement for Kellyann, Dr Shaw said: “She had an absolutely rotten life.

“It does seem as if towards the end, she was making some effort to engage with services.

“I think she was trying to turn things around in her own way.

“We don’t know what her relationship with Joseph Dunn was. They may have suffered shared loss. Both had suffered bereavements recently.

“Her death was due to morphine toxicity. Evidence suggests this was an accidental overdose.”

In his concluding statement for Joseph, Dr Shaw said: “He had a long history of personal tragedy. He suffered the death of his older brother.”

Turning to Joseph’s family, he said: “How your family can have so much personal tragedy over the years, I don’t know how you bear it. It must be very difficult.”