An alcoholic who was craving liquor boosted up the

An alcoholic who was craving liquor boosted up the little
she could lay her hands on with a lethal dose of painkillers,
an inquest heard on Tuesday.

Her ex-husband told Southwark Coroners Court that she used
to hype up the effects of alcohol with drugs ranging from Kaoline
and Morphine to Paracetamol.

Marion Young, 41, of Detling, Kent, fell into
a stupor on December 4 last year and was unconscious by the time
relatives had rushed her to Maidstone Hospital.

The former Rank Bingo hall attendant was transferred to the
liver unit of Kings College Hospital, London, but died early the
next morning from liver failure.

Pathologist Dr John Salisbury told the court that an overdose
of Paracetamol could leave the victim feeling normal for two days
without realising the drug was slowly killing the liver.

‘I believe that Mrs Young took a massive dose of the
painkillers two or three days before appearing ill and there
was nothing that could have been done to save her.

‘The antidote to Paracetamol overdose must be taken within
12 hours,’ he said.

He explained that the London’s world famous liver unit had
recorded cases of death caused by just 15 Paracetamol pills.

Coroner Sir Montague Levine added that the manufacturers
of Paracetamol had always refuted those findings.

Dr Salisbury said that Mrs Young also had a weak, fatty liver
caused by years of alcohol abuse.

‘Her liver would have been too weak to break down the drug,’
he said.

The pathologist could not discover how many pills she had taken
because of the delay in diagnosing her condition.

Relatives had
thought she just had a chest infection.

Recording an open verdict into the death of Mrs Young, who was
born in Canterbury on September 15, 1951, Sir Montague said:
‘With all the goodwill in the world it can be very difficult
to stop someone from drinking.

‘It’s an enormous problem and this woman obviously had
difficulty finding alcohol and mixed what she could find with
drugs.

‘
Ex-husband Anthony Young, who was still living with his wife
in Scragged Oak Road for economic reasons, said that he never
allowed her to have money because she would spend it on alcohol.

He said: ‘Her alcoholism caused the break-up of our marriage.

It just became too much for me.

‘
The deceased’s brother-in-law Philip Zygmant (Corr) of Foulds
Close, Gillingham, Kent, recalled how she took Kaoline and
Morphine from his medicine cabinet to supplement her alcohol
and then tried to disguise the fact by topping up the bottle
with water.

Family GP, Dr Michael Moss of Yeoman’s Lane, Bearsted,
Maidstone, told the inquest that the drinking problem may
have stemmed from childhood difficulties.

Sir Montague extended his personal condolences to the family,
saying that there was ‘absolutely’ no evidence that she intended to
take her life.

ENDS