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21st April 2023
09:11am BST
A young couple who were found dead in their Devon flat both died from natural causes, on the same day, in a "very rare" case.
An inquest heard that 32-year-old Aleasha Sullivan and Joshua Sandercock, 30, were discovered lifeless in her flat in Holcombe, on 21 October, 2021, but a post-mortem and an extensive investigation found no evidence the deaths were connected.
Plymouth Coroners Court, Devon Live reported, heard that Aleasha had a domestic violence protection order against Joshua at the time of her death, following a charge of alleged assault against her. Police had been called to the home after a welfare concern had been raised by her support worker, who was told the mum had not been seen or heard from in nine days.
When officers visited the flat the same day, and got no response, they looked through the letterbox slit and saw a body against the door.
It was Aleasha, and she had been dead for several days.
Joshua was found dead in the upstairs living room.
The inquest was told that police initially treated the flat as a potential crime scene, before it was established the couple had both died of natural causes.
Aleasha died of pulmonary thromboembolism, a blood clot in her lungs, Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Deborah Cook concluded.
The inquest was told she had a history of drug use, mental health problems and suffered clotting problems in her legs. She had also spent time in prison.
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