The family of a mum-of-three who died after being found with serious head injuries at home have said they are "very frustrated" after an inquest was unable to establish how she died. Susan Moore died on August 27 last year after emergency services were called to her flat in Cwmbran.
Ms Moore, 53, of Redbrook Way, was found unresponsive on her bedroom floor that morning with injuries to her head and eye and was taken to University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, where she died later that day. Her family issued a statement at the time saying they were "deeply saddened" by their loss and described Ms Moore as "a proud daughter and mother-of-three who will be sorely missed."
Ms Moore's partner Andrew Jenkins was later charged with her murder, a charge he pleaded not guilty to. In December last year that charge was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CSPS). A Cardiff Crown Court spokesperson said at the time that "a large body of medical evidence" had been considered but that the "prosecution was not in a position to prove the case and [was] offering no evidence." Mr Jenkins was discharged and Gwent Police said the death was no longer being treated as suspicious.
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An inquest at Gwent Coroner's Court in Newport on Tuesday, June 20 heard a statement on behalf of Ms Moore's daughter Charlotte Richards who said Ms Moore had been interested in horses and was a "free spirit" who had spent time in America when she was younger.
Ms Richards said her mum was "undoubtedly a proud mother of three children" but had struggled with drug addiction, adding that her family were "fully aware" of her drug issues which she said had "consumed her adult life viciously".
The court heard emergency services were called to Ms Moore's flat at around 7am on Saturday, August 27, 2022 and that her partner Andrew Jenkins had called an ambulance after he found her unresponsive on the bedroom floor. Ms Moore was found by paramedics with serious head injuries and drug paraphernalia next to her.
Emergency services administered medication to Ms Moore and she was taken to hospital in Cardiff. However, her injuries were not survivable and she was pronounced dead at around midday on August 27. A post mortem later confirmed she had suffered a fractured skull and left-sided extradural haematoma, the latter of which which typically occurs following a fall, assault or sporting injury.
The court heard Ms Moore had had long-standing drug issues for which she had undergone treatment on several occasions. A report from Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS) heard she had undertaken multiple episodes of treatment between 2014 and 2021 but that by her last visit to the service in 2021 she was using heroin and crack cocaine around three times a week.
Speaking at Tuesday's inquest, Mr Jenkins said he had been in a relationship with Ms Moore for 18 years. He said he had woken up on the morning she was found unresponsive and had left the bedroom without seeing her. He said he thought it was "unusual" that she was not next to him as she would often watch something on her phone when she woke up. He went to the living room but did not find her.
He said he returned to the bedroom where he found an injured Ms Moore on the floor with blood and drug paraphernalia nearby and tried to wake her up. When he was unable to, he said he put a pillow under her head and went to a neighbour's house to call an ambulance, as he said his phone was not working and he couldn't find Ms Moore's.
Mr Jenkins told the court he and Ms Moore had been together at the flat on the day before she died, apart from when he went to Iceland to do some shopping. He said he "doesn't recall" Ms Moore taking drugs on the night before she was found. Asked if he was aware of her suffering any head injury leading up to her death, he replied: "No, I don't, no," adding that he didn't recall seeing her fall either.
Mr Jenkins said he had been a heroin addict and had "probably" used the drug on the Friday night as well as taking Valium. He conceded he may have been "very drowsy" on Saturday morning and explained this might have been why he didn't initially see his partner when he first left the room, adding that she was "very short" which may have made her less visible on the floor. He added that Ms Moore had been "her normal self" on the Friday and that nobody else had visited the flat that day other than a friend who briefly visited on the Friday night.
Senior coroner Caroline Saunders said there were a number of difficulties in determining how Ms Moore had died. She said medical examinations had been unable to determine when her head injuries had occurred, or when she had last used drugs. She said she believed evidence of ketamine, morphine and benzodiazepines found in Ms Moore's toxicology report had been administered by emergency services, rather than being taken recreationally. No other drugs were named in the report and the coroner said there would be no reference to drug use in Ms Moore's death.
While she said she was "satisfied" that a thorough police investigation had been undertaken, the coroner said there was insufficient evidence to suggest Ms Moore had been assaulted or that she had suffered a fall. She added that she could not conclude that drug use had any role in her death and that she was therefore "unable to make a determination" on how Ms Moore's injuries had happened.
Ms Saunders said she would be recording an open verdict and gave a medical cause of death as blunt head injuries including a left-sided skull fracture and extradural haematoma. She added: "There will be no reference to drug use in Ms Moore's death. The cause of the head injuries could not be determined and the conclusion will be recorded as an open verdict."
Following the inquest on Tuesday, Ms Moore's family said they were "very frustrated with the open verdict" and appealed for anyone with any further information on Ms Moore's death to come forward. In a statement they said: "We want anyone with any information, no matter how insignificant or small it might seem to them, it could be something. Even if they heard anything, please come forward and report it to police." A Gwent Police spokesperson said: "As with any case if any new information comes to light it will be looked at. Our thoughts remain with the family of Susan Moore."
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