Man left partner's body in bed for days, believing she was asleep, coroner finds
A Norfolk coroner concluded that Lyudmila Skotcher died from acute alcohol intoxication after her partner, Matthew Burgess, left her unattended for four days, mistakenly thinking she was sleeping.
Matthew Burgess visited the Norwich home of his partner, Lyudmila Skotcher, repeatedly over a four-day period in October after the couple returned from buying alcohol. Skotcher was last seen alive on Oct 12, when she reportedly became unwell and lay down. Burgess said she appeared to be asleep or passed out after drinking a large amount of vodka, wrapped a blanket around her and left the property. He returned the next day, found her in the same position and again left, still believing she was sleeping off the alcohol.
Emergency services were finally called early on Oct 16, when medics determined she had been dead for several days. A post-mortem ruled the death was caused by alcohol intoxication, with no evidence of third-party involvement. The assistant coroner, Christopher Leach, noted that Skotcher's blood alcohol level was more than four times the legal drink-drive limit and that she likely died in an unsafe sleeping position after becoming unconscious.
"Sadly she had a long history of alcohol use. There were concerns over the behaviour of her partner but a police investigation and medical conclusions mean I am satisfied there is no evidence of any third party involvement in her death," Leach said.
Skotcher's former husband, Stephen, expressed distress that medical help was not sought sooner, saying the partner should have acted immediately.
The investigation also found that Burgess initially claimed he had not been at the property before the incident, a statement contradicted by CCTV evidence.
