Young couple found dead together at home in 'very rare but entirely coincidental' case

A young couple found dead together at home had both died individually of natural causes in a 'very rare' case, an inquest heard.

The bodies of Aleasha Sullivan, 32, and Joshua Sandercock, 30, were found at her flat in Holcombe, Devon, in October 2021 by police who were called after concerns were raised for them.

But despite both being found dead in the property, investigations found that the couple had died of natural causes completely independent of each other.

Inquests at Plymouth Coroners Court heard that Sullivan had a domestic violence protection order against Sandercock after he was charged with alleged assault against her.

Police were called to her home after her support worker raised concerns that she had not been seen or heard for days and found her body against the door.

When they then searched the maisonette, they found Sandercock's body upstairs. It could not be confirmed when he had entered the flat or how long he had been there before his death.

The inquest heard that police initially treated the flat as a potential crime scene until medical examinations of the pair's bodies revealed they had both died of natural causes completely independently of each other.

Extensive investigations found there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding their deaths and no signs of a disturbance at the property or third-party involvement.

Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Deborah Cook concluded that Sullivan had died of pulmonary thromboembolism - a blood clot in her lungs.

The inquest heard she had a history of drug dependancy, mental health problems and clotting problems in her legs, and had spent some time in prison.

However, she was engaging with support services and was said to be motivated to improve her situation, beat her problems and settle down in a supportive relationship.

Read more: Farmer who hired diggers to rip up trees along river is jailed and ordered to pay £1.2 million

Police staff investigator Paul Cashman - who told the inquest the case was a set of 'very unusual circumstances' - said she had last been seen on 12 October when she went to collect her methadone prescription from the pharmacy

Police carried out a 'drive past' on 19 October before breaking in and finding her body on 21 October.

Needle marks were found on her body and toxicology tests confirmed she had taken heroin sometime before her death but it was not believed to have accounted for her death.

Dr Cook added that there were no signs of any trauma to her body to suggest there she had been assaulted or had fallen down the stairs.

Assistant coroner for south Devon Mike Bird said: "I can imagine as a family it is quite a surprising conclusion considering where the investigation started and two people having been found in same premises at the same time.

"The initial and natural speculation was that the two deaths were linked but after that detailed investigation there is no evidence to suggest Aleasha died from anything other than a wholly natural cause."

Recording a verdict of death by natural causes for her, he said: "Despite the unusual situation where another person was found deceased at the same address at the same time, there is no evidence after forensic, medical and police investigations to suggest the causes of death of the two individuals were in any way connected."

A separate inquest into Sandercock's death gave his cause of death was confirmed as pneumonia. Toxicology tests showed he had taken methadone, which he had not been prescribed, in the hours before his death.

The amount consumed was not generally associated with fatalities, but pathologist Dr Cook said: "The methadone may have tipped the balance in a man suffering pneumonia to result in respiratory compromise that resulted in death.”

Medical records revealed he had a history of asthma, alcohol abuse, substance misuse including cocaine and cannabis, and mental health struggles. He had previously suffered overdoses related to his drug taking and had spent periods of time in prison.

His stepmother, who had last spoken to him on 8 October, said despite a court order, he and Sullivan 'could not stay from each other'.

Recording a natural causes conclusion for Joshua's death, the coroner said: "It can be said very clearly there is no evidence of the suggestion the deaths were connected in any way other than entirely coincidentally.

"Neither one of them had anything to do with the death of the other. I can imagine how the community might view that conclusion.

"Here we deal with evidence and the evidence clearly from all sources says there was no connection."