A PREGNANT mother of two and her unborn baby died after she used cocaine which was cut with the heart drug lignocaine.
Lisa Hart (32), Bunratty Road, Coolock, Dublin, and her unborn son, Elton Hart were pronounced dead at 3am on March 16th, 2009, at Beaumont Hospital, approximately three hours after Ms Hart collapsed on her bedroom floor.
A double inquest into the death of the mother and baby at Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Hart’s partner, Elton Moran brought cocaine home from the pub on the evening of March 15th and that he took cocaine in the flat.
The couple’s two children a nine-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy were asleep in bed at the time.
Giving evidence Mr Moran, who raised the alarm after Ms Harte collapsed in their bedroom, told the inquest he could not remember Lisa, who was 32 weeks pregnant at the time, taking cocaine.
When members of Dublin Fire Brigade arrived at the flat Mr Moran, who was intoxicated due to drug use, said his partner was pregnant and had taken cocaine, fire fighter with Dublin Fire Brigade, Hugh O’Leary said in a statement read out in court.
There were no signs of circulation or respiration, the inquest heard.
Ms Hart died from cocaine and lignocaine toxicity, the Dublin city coroner Dr Brian Farrell told the members of Ms Hart’s family who were in court yesterday.
The baby died in the womb because of Lisa’s death, a post-mortem by the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis found.
A toxicology screening as part of a postmortem by Dr Curtis found cocaine in Ms Hart’s blood, as well as toxic level of lignocaine, a heart drug with which street cocaine is frequently “cut” and which can intensify the effects of cocaine on the heart.
The coroner said the combination of cocaine and lignocaine is “very dangerous indeed” and is a cause for concern in our society at the moment.
Giving evidence about the night of his partner’s death Mr Moran said that when Lisa was getting ready for bed, she asked him to put their nine year old daughter in the top bunk. Lisa then started pointing at the wardrobe and saying there was someone in the press, Mr Moran said.
Ms Hart suffered a fit and Mr Moran ran to a neighbour’s flat to ask him to ring an ambulance.
The coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure and expressed his condolences to the family.