An inquest into the tragic death of Nicola Bulley has begun, after the mum-of-two vanished whilst out walking her dog earlier this year.
The 45-year-old went missing on January 27 after dropping her two daughters off at school in the morning. Her body was found in the River Wyre in Lancashire over a fortnight later, on February 19.
When Ms Bulley disappeared, her phone was still connected to a Teams work call, and the device was found on a bench near to the river.
The Mirror reports that Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour told the inquest at the County Hall in Preston that it's likely the mum-of-two drowned in the river.
As the evidence was read out, Ms Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell, sister Louise Cunningham and parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, were all seen sitting in the public gallery.
With the first day of the inquest now over, here's everything we know about the tragic case so far.
Nicola Bulley died from drowning - pathologist
Alison Armour, who carried out Ms Bulley's post-mortem, said the evidence of water in her lungs and stomach led her to conclude the cause of death was drowning.
She said: "I conclude the cause of death as drowning. The lungs themselves showed classical features we see in drownings.
"In my opinion Nicola Bulley was alive when she entered the water."
She added that there were no brain bleeds or diseases present, and only 'normal' levels of therapeutic medication in her body.
A low level of alcohol was consistent with the natural process of decomposition, the inquest heard.
Professor Michael Tipton, a world expert in drowning, said he agreed with Alison's findings.
Mum-of-two 'fell in river before floating downstream'
A police underwater search specialist said he believes Ms Bulley fell into the River Wyre before floating downstream.
A video of PC Matthew Thackray in St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire, where Ms Bulley is believed to have fallen in, was shown to the court.
In it he said: "There is a large vertical slope from the bench and into the water.
"On the day there was a steady flown downstream."
He went on: "The river was 4C, so almost freezing, and if she fell in the muscles would probably seize making it difficult to swim properly."
No signs of assault or third party involvement
Ms Bulley's body had some bruising on it, but the inquest was told that this didn't contribute to her death.
Dr Adeley asked the pathologist: "Is there any evidence of third-party involvement playing any part in her death?"
Ms Armour replied: "No, there was not."
She also denied that Ms Bulley had been assaulted or harmed.
Nicola 'could have started drowning within seconds of entering river'
Prof Tipton said there would have been a "fairly rapid incapacitation" after Ms Bulley went into the River Wyre, and she may have started losing consciousness within seconds.
The expert said that the water found in the stomach and lungs is consistent with a "gasp response" under water, with liquid entering the body's organs, something which is seen in two-thirds of drowning victims.
Prof Tipton told the inquest: "In my opinion, given the nature of the likely entry into the water, I would suspect Nikki had a gasp response under the water, initiating the drowning process.
"On the balance of probability there was a fairly rapid incapacitation due to the cold shock."
It could have been an estimated "20 to 30 seconds" before Ms Bulley lost consciousness, the inquest was told.
Two breaths of water would have been a "lethal dose" for someone of Ms Bulley's size, Prof Tipton said.
River at high tide when Nicola vanished
A police diver has said that the River Wyre was at high tide at the time of day Ms Bulley went missing.
Mr Thackray showed a video to the court of himself - taken in April - floating over the weir with ease, saying the river level on that day in April was lower than at the time Ms Bulley vanished.
He said: "This part of the river is tidal, when we were here it was flowing downstream..
"On the day by the time we arrived, it was low tide. That means it was high tide earlier in the day and potentially pushing things back up."
His team arrived at the scene at around 4pm on January 27, the day Ms Bulley went missing.
Low temperatures may have caused cold water shock
According to Mr Thackray, the water may have been around 4C on the day Ms Bulley went missing.
In the clip, he was heard saying: "That would feel very very cold, almost freezing if you fell in.
"The cold water shock would have probably taken effect and cause you to gasp for breath, cause your muscles to seize up so you can’t swim properly."
Prof Tipton also believed the temperature to have been "around three to 5C (in the river)", which could trigger a "particularly powerful cold-shock response."
Cold water expert Dr Patrick Morgan added: "(After falling in) the heart rate goes excessively high, the blood pressure surges excessively high.
"The heart pumps no blood and the brain switches off. The potential conscious time here quoted are optimistic... it is potentially shorter.
"On the occasion that the individual has taken that initial gasp on the surface of the water and then gone below, the duration would be 10 seconds that you could hold your breath and very likely one or two seconds at best."
'Nothing of concern' on day of disappearance
When Ms Bulley went missing, she was deemed a 'high risk' individual, prompting a massive police search response.
But a mother who bumped into Ms Bulley on the morning of her disappearance said there was "nothing of concern".
Receptionist Kay Kiernan told the inquest she'd spoken to Ms Bulley that morning about her dog Willow while dropping off her children at school at just after 8.30am.
She said: "She was not happy, but who is on a Friday-morning school run? She wasn't sad, just how I normally knew her."
Ms Kiernan went on: "There was nothing of concern."
Partner said 'she's struggling' after hearing her phone and dog were found
Retired care worker Susan Jones told the inquest that at around 10am on January 27 she received a call from Penny Fletcher, who had discovered Willow and the phone.
She then bumped into Anne-Marie, Ms Fletcher's daughter-in-law, who recognised a photograph of Ms Bulley and her family on the phone lock screen.
She then contacted the local school, before speaking to Ms Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell.
Ms Jones told the inquest: "Anne-Marie spoke on the phone and said that he (Mr Ansell) said 'she's struggling'."
Witnesses heard 'inhale scream'
Two women have said they heard a 'scream' on the morning Ms Bulley disappeared.
Helen O'Neill, a nurse, was in her garden in Allotment Lane which is close to where Ms Bulley's phone was found.
She told the inquest: "I heard a scream, it's not an alarming noise, it was just over in a couple of seconds. I'm quite used to hearing the children in the school out back, but it was not that noise.
"I vividly remember thinking it's unusual at this time. In my head, I had two females, walking along by the river and one jumped out on the other. I didn't think anything of it until later on. There were no other sounds for me to be concerned about."
A second witness, Veronica Claesen, a housewife and club secretary for the village tennis club, said: "I was just about to get into the car and I heard a scream. A very short scream and my immediate thought was, 'Somebody is having a bit of fun at the back of the graveyard'."
Ms Claesen said it was an "inhale scream" like a sharp intake of breath.
Nicola 'very possibly' fell in water at 9.22am
DC Keith Greenhalgh said he believes Ms Bulley fell into the water between 9.18am and 9.30am.
He told the inquest analysis of her iPhone and Fitbit watch data suggests she "very possibly" entered the water at 9.22am on January 27.
DC Greenhalgh said Ms Bulley's Fitbit stopped recording steps after 9.30am on the day she disappeared. He also said there was 'no sign' her iPhone had been in the water as it was still 'intact'.
Speaking about her watch, he said: "My initial thoughts were that the device lost power on February 4 2023." He said there were no further steps recorded beyond 9.30am on January 27.
The watch and a set of Mercedes car keys were found along with her body on February 19, Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith told the court.
The inquest continues today.
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