A heartbroken man who found his former partner dead on the sofa has told of his pain - saying he wishes he could have 'taken her back'. Roy Reed has paid a heartfelt tribute to the mum of his five children - Kayleigh Baxter, 33, who passed away at their home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
Speaking after the inquest into the death of his partner of 15 years, the 40-year-old said: "She died on May 10 last year - it was around 7pm. We have five children together.
"In 2012, she cheated on me with my friend. I still loved her, but I just could not continue the relationship - so we split up," he added. "I miss her so much."
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He could not hold his tears back outside Nottingham Council House, where the inquest took place, and added: "I should have taken her back. I have blamed myself for it since."
In a statement read out during the inquest on Tuesday (April 18), he said he could hear Ms Baxter snoring on the sofa at their property on Queensway. She suddenly stopped, and he performed CPR on her, the inquest was told.
The ambulance service and police attended the address, and officers searched the property. PC Katherine Tremayne described the property as "cluttered" with one of the rooms being "full of animals".
"We spoke to Roy and he explained that she went to sleep and at some point she stopped snoring." She also told the hearing that Ms Baxter was missing hospital appointments and "was not feeling well lately". The inquest was also told that Ms Baxter was using cocaine.
Medication was found in the property including in a safe. Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, Mr Reed said he was keeping his medication in the safe and was changing his code often so his former partner did not take them.
The PC told the hearing: "I remember speaking to Sarah, their oldest child. She said that her mum was not feeling well and had dark circles under the eyes."
Details of Ms Baxter's medical record were read out during the inquest, including issues that she had with her sleep, low mood and kidneys. A post-mortem examination found a quantity of medication in Ms Baxter's blood including codeine, morphine and pregabalin.
Concluding the inquest, Assistant Coroner Nathanael Hartley said Ms Baxter died of aspiration pneumonia and drug toxicology. He added: "I heard Kay was really loved by the people who knew her, especially her children."
Mr Reed, who attended the inquest, told the hearing: "She was beautiful. Our children loved her very much. I find it very hard to understand why she left the way she did. She wanted the best for our children.
"She was very vulnerable. And for a person like that not to be noticed as vulnerable is a great mishap. I begged social services on my knees to support her. It was hard to get along. She wanted to get back together. I loved her to death."
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