Family’s shock over Littlehampton mother’s drug death

Daphne Ryk, 49, who was a district nurse for charity Guild Care and had worked as a nurse at Worthing Hospital, died following an overdose of cocaine, while staying with a friend in South Terrace, Littlehampton.

An inquest into her death was held at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The inquest was told how Mrs Ryk, known as Dee by friends and family, suffered a brain haemorrhage, on the night of July 8, after she took the fatal dose. She died six days later at Worthing Hospital, on July 14.

Mrs Ryk was in the processing of finding a permanent place to live, and had been under “extreme pressure” to sell her house, and had resorted to using drugs recreationally, the inquest heard.

Daughter, Danielle Jeffery, 24, from Brighton, gave evidence during the inquest. She told how she was unaware of her mother’s drug use.

She said: “She was stressed quite often but that was her nature. She was genuine and helpful – she was caring.

“She never told me she took cocaine. When I was younger, I had a friend who took ecstasy at my birthday party and mum hit the roof. She would even tell her work-mates off for smoking in the car.

“This was totally out of character.”

Mrs Ryk suffered with cystic kidney disease, which elevated her blood pressure. This, combined with the absorption of cocaine into her system, led to a fatal bleed in the brain, the inquest was told.

Doctor Peter Wilkins, the pathologist who conducted Mrs Ryk’s post-mortem, said: “She suffered a pontine haemorrhage in a crucial area of the brain. The site is such a critical site, even a haemorrhage the size of a shirt button could be fatal.”

The inquest heard how Mrs Ryk’s husband, George Cunningham, 55, and his friend, Jason Owens – whose home they were staying at – tried to help her after she began complaining of numbness on one side, shortly after taking the drug.

Mrs Ryk was taken to Worthing Hospital where she died six days later.

Coroner Bridget Dolan recorded a verdict of accidental death.

She said: “It’s clear to me that this was a death that followed the regular use of cocaine. She appears to be an infrequent but naïve user of cocaine.

“This underlines the real risk that anybody runs when taking drugs.”

In a statement outside the court, Mrs Ryk’s daughter Georgina Rykalska, 20, from Brighton, said: “Daphne was a loving mum and caring wife. Her death was sudden and the cause very out of character. It will take us a long time to make any sense of her untimely death.”