A young British couple found dead in the same house on the same day died of two different natural causes. Aleasha Sullivan, 32, and Joshua Sandercock, 30, sadly lost their lives in October 2021, and police immediately launched an investigation. On an inquest held at Plymouth Coroners Court on April 20, 2023, the results of their post-mortems were revealed, proving their deaths were in no way related.
Home office forensic pathologist Dr. Deborah Cook found that Aleasha died of a blood clot in her lungs. Toxicology reports found that she’d taken heroin prior to her death, but it’s not believed the dose found in her system contributed to it. There were no signs of physical trauma on her body either, though authorities did note she had a domestic violence protection order in place against her partner at the time of her passing.
Her support worker contacted authorities on October 21 after Sullivan hadn’t been heard from for 9 days. When police arrived, they looked through the letterbox of the house and saw what they believed to be a body propped against the door. When they entered the property, they realized Aleasha Sullivan had been dead for several days.
Joshua Sandercock’s body was discovered in the upstairs living room. Toxicology tests found that he’d taken methadone in the hours before his death, though it had not been prescribed to him. Because he was already suffering from pneumonia, he suffered respiratory failure and passed away.
“I can imagine as a family it is quite a surprising conclusion considering where the investigation started and two people having been found in same premises at the same time,” said assistant coroner for south Devon Mike Bird, per the Daily Record. The initial and natural speculation was that the two deaths were linked but after that detailed investigation there is no evidence to suggest Aleasha died from anything other than a wholly natural cause.”
