Devoted Truro mum was found in river
A devoted mum had wanted to drink away her worries when she sought the peace and quiet of a rural beauty spot but ended up in a river and drowned, an inquest heard. The hearing into Natasha Birkin's death was told how she had wanted to clear her head and be alone to sort herself out before returning to her two children when she ended up in the River Fal.
The inquest heard how Natasha - who was 35 and known as Tasha to her loved ones - would go on alcohol binges and would sometimes take cocaine as a way to cope with her personal childhood trauma, stress, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and parenting challenges.
In a statement read out in the coroner's court in Truro, Tasha's mother Amanda said she had been a happy child who had a lot of friends and a strong moral sense. She added: "When she met her partner Vince she fell in love with him and they had two children together. Tasha was such a great mum to her children."
She said that Tasha moved to Cornwall from the Newark area in 2015 and settled in Truro, which she loved, and the city was good to her. In a reference to a previous overdose in 2021, Amanda said there was no way Tasha would ever have wanted to take her own life as her children were her everything, adding that her family took it as a cry for help that she was struggling.
She added: "There is no way she would have taken her own life. She was a strong person, always independent. What you saw was what you got with Tasha. She would not have left her children."
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On the day of her death on February 8 she did not go to her friend's house as planned and sent her messages that led her concerned friend to raise the alarm with Devon and Cornwall Police. Because of her previous overdose and Tasha's history of depression and alcohol intoxication, a high risk missing person investigation was launched.
Her phone pinged in the Veryan area on the Roseland at around 4pm and her car was then located near Sett Bridge. Detective Constable Catherine Rhodes, the officer in the case, told the inquest today (Tuesday, October 8) how Tasha's body was eventually located during a search by police, a mountain search and rescue team and HM Coastguard helicopter some 500m down river from the stone bridge, face down on a mud flat about 300m from the river bank.
Tasha's body was retrieved by HM Coastguard helicopter at 10.20pm and taken to Newquay before being taken by land ambulance to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro where a post-mortem examination was conducted.
It revealed that Tasha had taken cocaine prior to her death as well as a large amount of alcohol. The toxicology report showed that 345mg of alcohol was found in her blood which would equate to four times the drink drive legal limit (there is no suggestion whatsoever that Tasha drove to Lamorran Wood, where her car was near where she was found, while under the influence of alcohol).
In his report, pathologist Thomas Grigor said sea water was also found in her lungs and stomach, adding that the combination of cocaine and a "significant amount of alcohol" may have impacted her cognitive functions and motor skills and led to a possible loss of consciousness.
The inquest was told that Tasha's family went to the area the next day and again a few weeks later and found some of her belongings including her backpack and phone.
DC Rhodes told the hearing that it had been a day of high spring tides with fast flowing currents at the weir under the bridge near where Tasha's car had been left. There were slippery steps going down from the bridge as well as slippery rocks on the bank.
She told the inquest that the messages she had sent that day to her sisters, partner and friend indicated she fully intended to return home to her children once she had enjoyed some time alone. She also said there was no indication of foul play or anyone else being involved in Tasha's death.
DC Rhodes said: "Her text messages show she intended to return after taking time for herself but entered the water while intoxicated and was not able to get out."
See the coroner's conclusion below
Concluding that the cause was a drug and alcohol related death combined with an accidental death, assistant coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Emma Hillson, said it was more likely than not that due to her high level of intoxication, Tasha had ended up in the river by accident. She said it had not been possible to say whether Tasha had been conscious at the time of her entering the river.
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