A woman whose death prompted a police investigation died in accidental circumstances, an inquest heard today.

East Anglian Daily Times: The incident happened in the quiet cul-de-sac in Beyton late last year Picture: ARCHANTThe incident happened in the quiet cul-de-sac in Beyton late last year Picture: ARCHANT

A woman whose death prompted a police investigation died in accidental circumstances, an inquest heard.

Julie Feetham, 52, from Beyton, died on November 14, 2017 after suffering a serious head injury at her home in Thurston Road.

The incident sparked a police probe, which led to a 55-year-old man being arrested on suspicion of grevious bodily harm.

However all charges against the man were dropped in February of this year.

The inquest, at Suffolk Coroner’s Court in Ipswich, heard Ms Feetham was found unresponsive by her partner, Roy Young, when he came home from work on November 13.

In a statement read out by Suffolk coroner Nigel Parsley, Mr Young said he had left the house at around 5am for work, and returned to find his partner collapsed on the floor of her bedroom at around 5.25pm.

Ms Feetham was transferred to West Suffolk Hospital – but she was pronounded dead at 4.30pm on November 14.

The inquest heard that, due to the unexplained nature of Ms Feetham’s injuries – including extensive bruising – Suffolk police decided to conduct a full investigation into her death.

A 55-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident and released on police bail.

However the investigation concluded that no evidence of assault was found, and all charges were dropped.

The inquest also heard Ms Feetham was alcohol-dependant.

She had been referred to the Suffolk addiction support service Turning Point in the past, and had recently made attempts to cut down on her alcohol intake – leading on occasion to withdrawal-induced seizures.

At the time she was admitted to hospital, tests found Ms Feetham was not intoxicated.

However Mr Parsley said he was unable to conclude whether Ms Feetham died from an alcohol-induced fall, or a withdrawal-induced seizure, due to a lack of available evidence.

Mr Parsley therefore recorded the cause of Ms Feetham’s death as accidental.

Paying tribute to his partner, Mr Young said: “Julie was a very good person – she was fun and liked taking the mickey if she had the chance. She loved her kids. I will miss Julie – I still can’t believe she’s gone.”