The mum of a student who died on her first night as a student at Newcastle University said an inquest had "vindicated" her daughter - and that the verdict that the lethal ketamine was "provided by another" was a comfort to her family.
Jeni Larmour, 18, had moved into student accommodation in Richardson Road just hours before she was found dead in the early hours of October 3, 2022. Her mother Sandra Larmour spoke following the conclusion of an inquest into her daughter's death which saw Newcastle's senior coroner Karen Dilks rule that Jenni's death was by "misadventure".
On the first day of the two-day inquest, the coroner had heard from Home Office pathologist Dr Nigel Cooper who confirmed that medically, Ms Larmour had died due to the combination of alcohol and ketamine in her system that night. Following this, evidence from Ms Larmour's flatmates and Northumbria Police detectives, the coroner delivered a "short form verdict" of death by misadventure, defining that as "unintentional acts and events".
Read more: Flatmates give evidence at the inquest of Newcastle University student Jeni Larmour
Among the flatmates to give evidence was Kavir Kalliecharan, 20, from Leeds, who was later charged with possessing drugs, but not supplying them. He had told police the ketamine was Ms Larmour’s but police were unable to determine the source of that drug.
Speaking outside of Newcastle Coroner's Court afterwards, Sandra Larmour said: "Today I leave this court feeling in pain but knowing that my daughter has been vindicated.
“I have had to hear that the substance that killed Jeni was her own and that she was wilfully engaged in the supplying of drugs to others. I have always known this could not be further from the truth, particularly given that just a few hours earlier Jeni had boarded a plane with me from Belfast to Newcastle meaning she would have had to have taken the substance with her."
“The coroner’s acknowledgement that the drugs were provided to her by another, or in other words not her own, is a comfort to us, getting out to her friends and the community of Northern Ireland that she was innocent in all of this."
Mrs Larmour said she knew her daughter had not obtained the drugs herself as she had been with her until late that afternoon.
Paying tribute to her daughter, Mrs Larmour continued: "Everyone that knew Jeni knew her laugh. It was loud, it went everywhere. She was always laughing. We had a very close relationship and she was my best friend.
"She was much-loved and she had a huge following of friends. The coroner's acknowledgement that the drugs were provided to her by another is a comfort to us, giving out the message to us and to the community of Northern Ireland that she was innocent in all of this. She did not provide the drugs herself."
She said the family remained "fiercely proud of Jeni's achievements". Ms Larmour was set to begin an architecture and urban planning degree and had recently achieved four A*s at A-Level. She was also classically-trained singer.
Referring to Mr Kalliecharan's "admission of moral guilt" during the first day of the inquest and "the attitudes of Northumbria Police" Mrs Larmour said: "This is not over for us. We now have to go away and consider the words and conclusions of the coroner."
"I will leave no stone unturned for my daughter”, She added.
On Tuesday, while questioned by his barrister Richard Wright QC, Mr Kalliecharan said that when he felt Jeni's death was his "fault" he was expressing "guilt". He explained this was not in the criminal sense but in that of "moral responsibility".
Mr Wright asked: “As a human being, do you feel guilty in a moral sense about what happened?” The student replied: “Yes.”
In her verdict, the coroner said: "Jeni Victoria Larmour was an 18 year old student. She was fit and well and on the second of October she travelled from her home in Northern Ireland to her student residence.
"Between 5pm and 7pm approximately, Jeni and her fellow students consumed alcohol. Later that evening, while her judgement was impaired due to alcohol Jeni took a quantity of ketamine provided to her by another. The combined effect of which led to her death within the flat."
Earlier during the second day of proceedings, the court heard from Northumbria Police's Det Insp Jon May and PC Andrew Metcalfe - who gave evidence about the searches carried out on the student flat following the discovery of Ms Larmour's death. PC Metcalfe told the court how three kinds of drug had been found in Mr Kalliecharan's possession - cannabis, a "rock" of MDMA and partially-depleted bag of ketamine powder.
Drug paraphernalia - including "scales and self-sealing bags, as well as a cannabis grinder" - were also found. PC Metcalfe said he wasn't able to say how many bags there were, only that there were "a bunch, you could pinch them with your fingers". Mr Kalliecharan admitted drug possession last year, but has not been prosecuted for possession with intent to supply.
Discussing further searches of the property, including by sniffer dogs, PC Metcalfe said: "There was no evidence of a substance or anything associated with a substance in anyone else's room." Both he and Det Insp May confirmed the police investigation had not been able to identify the source of the ketamine.
Quizzed by Mr Kalliecharan's barrister Mr Wright, PC Metcalfe agreed that a social media video featuring the ketamine powder in three "lines" on a table and taken by Jeni on the night in question "showed two young people engaging voluntarily and without coercion in the recreational and intentional use of ketamine".
The court also heard evidence from Newcastle University's Lucy Backhurst - the university’s academic registrar and director of student services - discussing the support and advice which the institution provides students in relation to drugs and alcohol. Ms Backhurst also paid tribute to Jeni, saying: "Jeni was just the sort of bright, able student we want studying at Newcastle University. I did not know her, but from all that was said yesterday I would have liked to have."
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