\"Why did allergy woman eat killer nut?\"

The following article is reproduced from the Daily Mail (UK) of March 13, 2003.
All copyrights etc. recognised.

The names have been omitted, out of respect for those concerned.
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A young mother who ate a Brazil nut, knowing that it could kill her, had earlier fallen out with her fiance, an inquest heard.

Mother-of-two, "B", 26 - who had suffered from an allergy to nuts since she was 3 - collapsed and died in front of her fiance, "D", as she frantically fought for breath.

Her distraught family said they believed her death in January was a tragic accident. However, Coroner Dr. Joe Pim questioned whether she had perhaps taken her own life - and recorded an "open verdict" at the Inquest in Reading, Berkshire.

He said : "What slightly concerns me is that the Brazil nuts were found in a bathroom bin, wrapped in a Christmas napkin. They were obviously not intended to be found. I am rather wondering, when "B" ate those nuts, if she was intending to do herself some harm. I certainly have not got enough evidence to suggest that she was intentionally trying to kill herself, but there are slightly nagging doubts".

Her fiance said that he and "B" had been reconciled after they had argued. He told the Coroner that "things had been fine" until his fiancee got up from bed to go to the toilet at around 1:30 am. He later found her in the bathroom, desperately trying to breathe. She was choking and could not tell him what was wrong, but he knew the signs of nut allergy so he immediately called an Ambulance.

Paramedic Chris Johnson said that "B" was having great difficulty breathing - and then her heart stopped. She was found to be dead on arrival at Hospital. She left two children : "M", aged 7, and 15-month-old "E".

After the Inquest, a family friend said : "I don't believe for one minute that "B" took her own life. She & "D" were very happy together. She was really excited about getting married. It was all she talked about. She and her fiance had only moved in together a year ago. She loved life and her children. She was a very good mother. There is no way she would do this to them - she cared for them too much".

After "B"'s death, her mother "I" (47), said that her daughter had suffered from an allergy to nuts since she was a toddler - when she almost died from an allergic attack - and has always 'painstakingly' checked what she ate. She added : "She was a wonderful daughter and mother. Since her death, I feel that all my future has gone. I wake up in the early hours and all I can think about is "B". She was the life & soul of the party : really bubbly. Life will not be the same without her".