Llandudno woman dies trying to break up fight

Jun 4 2009 by Kelly Fenna, North Wales Weekly News

A 35-YEAR-OLD woman collapsed and died of a hidden heart condition whilst trying to break up an alleyway fight.

Suzanne Christina Theresa Jones had been arguing with her boyfriend Colin Davies after a night out. Another man got involved in the row near Maes y Cwm, Llandudno, in the early hours of August 31 last year.

Neighbours heard shouting and found Ms Jones having a seizure as she tried to separate the scrapping men.

An inquest in Llandudno last week heard the mum-of-one from nearby Cwm Howard had a hidden heart condition and was prone to collapsing after physical stress.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate her but she was pronounced dead by the time she got to hospital.

Originally, police were treating her death as suspicious and arrested Mr Davies in connection with the incident.

But he was later released without charge after a post mortem discovered the heart abnormality.

Giving a cause of death as spontaneous ventricular arrhythmia due to ischemic heart disease, Home Office pathologist Brian Rodgers said: “Suzanne had an extremely small coronary artery, which she would’ve been born with.

“It would have led to sudden abnormalities in rhythm – her death could’ve happened at any stage.”

Speaking at the inquest, Ms Jones’ mother Mary Jones said her daughter complained she was too tired to take part in PE at school and once collapsed after exercise in the gym.

But hospital tests came back as normal and medics could not find anything wrong with her.

The administrator was not on any medication at the time of her death.

Remembering her daughter, she said: “Suzanne was my best friend. I saw her that night as we often socialised together. She dropped me home in a taxi and told me she was going for a boogie.

“That was the last time I saw her.”

Coroner John Gittins said the seizure could’ve been brought on by the physical stress of trying to push the men apart.