Young mum stopped breathing at flat 'for 30 hours' before ambulance was called

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A young mum lay on a bed without breathing "for 30 hours" before someone called an ambulance, an inquest has heard. Kimberley McAssey was found dead in bed at her friend's home in 2021.

Rochdale Coroners Court heard that the 29-year-old had "gone cold" in Ryan Sheridan's flat at around 6am on February 20 of that year after the pair consumed a cocktail of alcohol and MDMA (ecstasy). Mr Sheridan failed to inform anyone about Ms McAssey's death until texting his mum, Emma Heydon, the following morning.

The court heard on Monday of the tragic events that led to Ms McAssey's death at the property on Sherbourne Court in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. The Manchester Evening News reports that Mr Sheridan's mum Ms Heydon arrived at the flat before going back outside to buy sandwiches for her son. It was only on her return that she made the 999 call.

Greater Manchester Police launched a probe into Ms McAssey's death. Officers are expected to outline how the investigation unfolded at the inquest this week.

The inquest heard how Mr Sheridan had messaged his mum at 9.28am on February 21, 2021, telling her: "I urgently need to see you". Ms Heydon called him at 10.43am to ask what was wrong. She then asked her friend Sarah Johnstone for a lift, before arriving at Sherbourne Court shortly before midday.

Recalling a version of events she said her son had given to her when she arrived at his home, Ms Heydon said Ms McAssey and Mr Sheridan had been drinking, had "taken drugs" at his flat and had sexual intercourse. Afterwards, Mr Sheridan left Ms McAssey to "get herself sorted" and went into another room, Ms Heydon said.

She continued: "He said he was either on Facebook, or whatever he was doing, a few hours had passed. He expected Kim to follow him not long after. He then went back in [the bedroom], climbed in next to her, but he didn't want to disturb her because she was asleep.

"After a while, he went over to give her a hug. He said she went cold. He tried to give her mouth-to-mouth twice. He was devastated."

The court heard how despite Ms Heydon arriving at her son's flat shortly before midday on February 21, 2021, it took a further 20 minutes for the emergency call to be made. Ms Heydon said she nipped out to get her son two sandwiches "because he had not eaten".

"I wish that I had rang the police sooner," Ms Heydon said. "But in retrospect, I did what I thought was right at that time. But I also didn't feel like it was a real scenario."

In the 999 call, played out in court, Ms Heydon was asked if Ms McAssey had died of an overdose, to which she replied: "Yeah." Facing questions from the coroner and Ms McAssey's family, Ms Heydon admitted she had not seen Ms McAssey or evidence to suggest that she had died because of an overdose, and she had only "assumed" that to be the case.

The court heard that at the time of the incident, Mr Sheridan was being investigated for an alleged assault against another female on February 14, 2021. Asked if she acted the way she did because she was "concerned" about that investigation, Ms Heydon said: "I just did not put two and two together."

Forensic pathologist Dr Philip Lumb told the inquest that the "decomposition", which had begun in the time period before emergency services were eventually called, made his assessment of Ms McAssey "very difficult". He explained that the post-mortem looked for signs of asphyxiation which could have been caused by strangulation, but any areas of bruising could have been due to changes in Ms McAssey's body.

Toxicologist Mark Tyler confirmed that MDMA was found in Ms McAssey's blood in a concentration that could cause fatalities. Dr Lumb said this could be a possible cause of her death, but suggested that the doubts over bruising to her body meant her medical cause of death was 'undetermined'.

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Karrie McAssey, Ms McAssey's mum, was one of a number of loved ones who tried to find Ms McAssey on February 21, 2021, before they knew about her death. In a statement read in court on her behalf, Karrie McAssey described her daughter as 'cheeky, funny, silly, one in a million'.

She told the court that Ms McAssey, a worker at Armstrong's chip shop in Prestwich, had a daughter in 2013 who was 'Kim's whole life'. Karrie McAssey added: "She was a child at heart no matter her age. Her smile changed the world and she never let the world change her smile.

"She was her own person and that made Kim so special... We love and miss Kim so very much. Kim leaving us has turned our lives upside down and has destroyed our family."

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