A BROMSGROVE woman died from a fatal cocktail of cocaine and morphine, a court heard.

Stacey Sollis, aged 27, of Catshill, was found dead in the living room of her ex-boyfriend Leon Quinn’s home in Knowle Close just after 1.30am on Sunday, December 13.

An inquest at Stourport Coroners Court on Thursday, May 5 heard she may had been dead for up to 36 hours before Mr Quinn called an ambulance.

At the time, he was arrested on suspicion of Miss Sollis’ murder but following post mortem results, no further action was taken against him as her death was no longer treated as suspicious.

Mr Quinn said initially, he thought Miss Sollis was asleep and went out, and on returning to the flat tried to wake her up.

Speaking at the inquest, he said: "She was cold- she was stiff– I knew something was wrong.

"I was shocked when I realised she had overdosed. It’s hard to understand.

"When I realised she had gone I didn’t know what to do.

"I was just distraught. I cried my eyes out, I talked to her.

"I went round to a friend’s house to ask them what I should do."

He added that normally in an overdose situation he would have called an ambulance but he knew Miss Sollis was already dead.

Mr Quinn, who described their relationship as "best friends" could not recall what date Miss Sollis had arrived at his home and said it felt like less time had passed before he called an ambulance as he too had been taking drugs.

He also said he had not seen Miss Sollis take the drugs and had not given her any either.

Detective Sergeant Nick Husbands said Miss Sollis had recently successfully completed a rehabilitation program and was 14 weeks clean of illicit drugs, and seven weeks clean of any supportive medication.

In a report, Paramedic Ben Pallante said he was called to the address where he met Mr Quinn who said: "I wouldn’t bother, she’s dead."

He followed Mr Quinn into the address, where he said Miss Sollis was fully clothed and lying in a "sitting position" with evidence of drug use.

He also saw a syringe in a packet and a spoon without a handle, which he believed had been used to ingest drugs.

After checking for Miss Sollis’ vital signs he realised she had been dead for some time and was suspicious and so contacted the police.

Toxicology reports found no alcohol in her system but a number of drugs were present.

A post-mortem found various marks and bruises but concluded none were serious.

Deputy coroner Andrew Cox, concluded she died of a drug related death.

He said: "Stacey died in circumstances I see all too often but what was unusual here is there was no call for emergency services for a considerable time - that caused suspicion – quite rightly.

He added that when drug users stop taking drugs, like Miss Sollis had, their tolerance is diminished.

"If or when they suffer a relapse and they take what they would have usually taken, very often it can be fatal," he added.

"She was incredibly vulnerable."