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Amy Pickard death: Hastings heroin victim inquest begins Amy Pickard death: Hastings heroin victim inquest begins
(about 2 hours later)
The inquest into the death of an East Sussex woman who died eight years after slipping into a heroin-induced coma has begun. An inquest into the death of a woman who died eight years after slipping into a heroin-induced coma has begun.
Amy Pickard was 17 when she was found with her boyfriend, collapsed in a locked cubicle at public toilets in Hastings in 2001. Miss Pickard, then 17, was found with her boyfriend, collapsed in a locked cubicle at public toilets in Hastings, Sussex, in 2001.
Amy was seven months pregnant at the time. Her baby was delivered but died five days later. She was seven months pregnant at the time. Her baby was delivered but died five days later.
She was left in a persistent vegetative state from which she never recovered. Miss Pickard was left in a persistent vegetative state from which she never recovered.
Together with her boyfriend, Amy had gone into the town to buy a cot for her unborn baby. Together with her boyfriend, she had gone into the town to buy a cot for her unborn baby.
The pair were found in the cubicle after it is believed Amy had experimented with the class A drug for the first time. The pair were found in the cubicle after it is believed Miss Pickard had experimented with heroin for the first time.
Her boyfriend died a week later from a heroin overdose. Her boyfriend, 22-year-old Michael Morfee, died a week later from a heroin overdose.
In 2007, Ms Pickard featured as part of a BBC documentary titled The Waking Pill, after hopes that the drug Zolpidem - used as a treatment for insomnia - could help revive her.In 2007, Ms Pickard featured as part of a BBC documentary titled The Waking Pill, after hopes that the drug Zolpidem - used as a treatment for insomnia - could help revive her.
Weeks after taking the drug, she began to breathe by herself, instead of through a hole in her throat. She reacted to food and showed signs of awareness.Weeks after taking the drug, she began to breathe by herself, instead of through a hole in her throat. She reacted to food and showed signs of awareness.
She died in a care home in Hastings in October 2009.She died in a care home in Hastings in October 2009.
The inquest is taking place at Hastings Magistrates' Court.The inquest is taking place at Hastings Magistrates' Court.