Corby woman Ewa Kotulska who was initially believed to have been murdered died of effects of alcohol

Ewa Kotulska, 50, was found dead in her Occupation Road flat on January 10 last year by her partner.

At first, police believed she may have been killed and launched a murder enquiry.

But an inquest held at Northampton’s Guildhall yesterday (Wednesday, January 8), ruled that her death was an accident.

Coroner Anne Pember had asked Ewa’s partner, whom she had met while working at Joules in Corby, to attend the inquest but he did not do so, and therefore his evidence was read by the coroner.

His statement said that they had lived together at the flat in Occupation Road for 15 months.

He said that Ewa had periods of not drinking, but when she was binge drinking she would consume around a bottle of whiskey each day for three or more weeks.

The afternoon before her death, Ewa had been drinking and her partner had gone into the bedroom for a nap. After ten minutes he said he heard a noise from the living room and when he went to see what had happened he saw her lying on the coffee table.

She told him she had fallen on to the coffee table and he moved her to the sofa. He noticed a cut on the lower part of her stomach and he helped her clean it up. He also noticed other bruising to her body.

He asked if he should phone his daughter for some advice but Ewa said no. He phoned his daughter anyway but she didn’t answer.

The pair then settled down to watch a Polish programme on TV before he went to bed, while she slept on the sofa.

The following morning he said he went out to a Polish bakery and Eva was sitting up on the sofa. She had already drunk a 0.7l bottle of whiskey which he said she must have bought from the Co-op shop next door.

On his return he found her in a kneeling position between the sofa and table. He called his daughter and asked her to phone and ambulance as he didn’t feel his English was good enough to communicate effectively with them.

When paramedics arrived they confirmed Ewa was dead.

A post-mortem following Ewa’s death showed she had 415mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. For context, the drink drive limit would be 80mg of alcohol.

The mum-of-one had a history of mild depression and struggled with sleeping and had sought medical advice from her doctor on a handful of occasions. Two years before her death she had been treated a Southampton hospital for an alcohol-related injury but had discharged herself. Her partner said she had previously phone the emergency services when she had been injured after drinking.

Ewa’s sister submitted a statement to the inquest that said that Ewa had an incredibly difficult childhood and had suffered physical abuse at the hands of her violent father. She said that she believed she had suffered PTSD and had developed alcoholism. They said this meant she could be ‘easily manipulated’.

They said despite her issues, Ewa was ‘sensitive and caring and had an amazing sense of humour.’

“She was too young to die,” the statement continued. “Nothing will be the same without her.”

Forensic pathologist Dr Frances Hollingbury said that Ewa’s death was a ‘consequence of alcohol toxicity.’

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death and said there was no indication Ewa had meant to harm herself.