Bexhill mum's vow to continue daughter's charity work after her death in Thailand

Rebecca Turner, 36, died in a hotel room in Bangkok after she and her boyfriend unwittingly consumed a lethal cocktail of drugs, thinking it was a line of cocaine, her mum Anita said.

But it was later revealed that the powder they had bought contained a lethal combination of nine drugs, including painkillers, sleeping pills and anxiety medications, according to Rebecca’s devastated mum.

An inquest on Tuesday (May 27) concluded Rebecca’s death was ‘drug-related’, East Sussex Coroner’s office said.

Anita said: “The inquest was really nothing different than what I already knew but I needed to be there to finalise everything and to see the outcome from the coroner.

“I cried nearly all the way through, listening again to all the details and also about her two friends finding her on the floor deceased.

“I will try and carry on what my daughter did herself and that is help all the less fortunate families in Laos in Rebecca’s memory. That’s a place she loved and called her second home.”

Rebecca had been travelling in Thailand when she died on March 15, 2024. She was due to fly home a month later.

Her mum said: “Rebecca was a very outgoing person, who lived life to the full. She loved to party with her friends and travel all over the world.

“When she stayed in Laos for four years she became part of a village’s community, where everyone knew and loved her.

“The mayor of the village came to the school and had a ceremony, thanking my daughter. It was lovely. My daughter and her friend from London would go bike riding around the village and stop on the side of the road, buying all the dolls from the less fortunate children and giving them out to the children who had nothing.

“After she passed away, the Irish bar where she was well-known, did a memorial for her and put up a big picture of her. All the villagers came flocking and queuing to pay their respects.”

Earlier this year Anita issued a warning to young people to resist pushy street drug dealers following her daughter’s death in Thailand.

She said: “There is a massive drug problem out there and you just don't know what you're getting or how strong it is. You need to be really careful. It's really not worth the risk.”

Rebecca’s body was repatriated home following her death, with her funeral held in 2024 in Eastbourne, her mum added.