The death of a woman which prompted a murder inquiry in Suffolk remains unexplained, an inquest has heard.
Irina Kuzmina, 45, a Lithuanian national living in Purfleet, Essex, was staying at the Magpie pub in Little Stonham when she died on November 10, 2019.
The inquest heard that Ms Kuzmina was part of a party group that had been booked at the Magpie.
At the end of the night, many members of the party had booked rooms to stay at the pub, including Ms Kuzmina.
Shortly after 3am, Ms Kuzmina was found lying on her bed, having gone to have a sleep.
However, others staying in the room were concerned to find her lips had turned blue and called the emergency services.
Ambulance crews attended the scene and spent over 20 minutes trying to revive Ms Kuzmina without success.
The inquest heard that prior to going to bed Ms Kuzmina had got into an altercation with another party guest.
The two were understood to have “grappled” and pulled on each other’s hair for less than a minute.
Following Ms Kuzmina’s death, the woman she fought with was arrested on suspicion of murder, but was later released when police dropped the charge following a post mortem of Ms Kuzmina’s body.
A further charge of assault was later brought against her but was also dropped earlier this year.
Forensic pathologist Dr Virginia Fitzpatrick-Swallow concluded that there were no outward signs of trauma and that nothing from the fight could have been the cause of Ms Kuzmina’s death.
Instead, Dr Fitzpatrick-Swallow noted that Ms Kuzmina had a high blood alcohol level of 188mg per 100 ml of blood, more than twice the legal limit for driving.
She also said that Ms Kuzmina had an enlarged heart.
Dr Fitzpatrick-Swallow confirmed that Ms Kuzmina’s cause of death remained unascertained but suggested that she may have had an underlying heart condition linked to her enlarged heart or could have choked on her own vomit when she passed out after drinking at the party.
Senior coroner for Suffolk Nigel Parsley, recorded an open verdict into Ms Kuzmina’s death, stating the cause was still unascertained but confirmed again that it was not linked to the altercation.
MORE: Murder investigation dropped after Suffolk pub party death
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