Mystery continues over drowning at cottage near Basingstoke
Inquest records 'open' verdict
Last updated 6th Apr 2021
An inquest has taken place into the death of a 61-year-old woman who drowned in the pond of her country home near Basingstoke.
Annabel Lucas was found in the garden pond at her Grade II-listed cottage in Herriard on March 5, 2019.
Her body had been weighed down with rocks and a post mortem concluded she died of drowning.
Toxicology tests also found that Ms Lucas, who had not drunk alcohol for more than 30 years, had alcohol equivalent to four-and-a-half-times the drink drive limit in her blood – as well as “high levels” of codeine.
The Winchester inquest was told that Ms Lucas’ life had been “blighted” by reactions to many household chemicals such as detergents and perfumes as part of the condition MCS.
Coroner Jason Pegg recorded an open verdict saying there were “inconsistencies” in the evidence surrounding her death, and added: “I cannot be satisfied that Annabel had an intention to take her own life.”
He said that it was not clear where Ms Lucas had drunk the alcohol as no bottles were found at the cottage or how she had tied tight knots while intoxicated.
He added: “At the time of her death, she was intoxicated with both alcohol and codeine which in combination caused her to be in a state of stupor and her co-ordination to be impaired.
“When found, Annabel had heavy objects secured within her clothing to cause Annabel to be submerged in the pond.
“How and when those objects were secured in Annabel’s clothing cannot be ascertained.”
The inquest heard that Ms Lucas was found by her brother, William Lucas, who removed a rucksack from his sister’s body and hid it in the garden and only later revealed that he had found it.
He said he had done so to protect her dignity and said he had not hidden any other evidence.
The inquest heard that as well as MCS, Ms Lucas had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and treated for an alcohol problem in the 1980s.
Describing the impact of the MCS, her partner Chris Garton said: “She had symptoms that she found distressing particularly with nose sinus pain and also stomach upset, lethargy and lack of energy.”
He continued: “Her life became more and more constrained by her illness, she couldn’t really go out and socialise or have her friends round the house because of her reaction to laundry detergent, perfumes and all those sorts of things.”
Mr Garton added: “She had made plans over previous years if her condition deteriorated where her life wasn’t worth living, she would look into going to a clinic in Switzerland and she asked me if I would assist her.”
He said that Ms Lucas was having a house built using “materials that would be safe for her” but she had not yet been able to move in “which is very sad”.
William Lucas said that his sister had recently stopped taking her natural medicine Immunocal because of a reaction she had to organic sulphates.
The family’s PA, Elinor Salter, said that Ms Lucas had recently become “weak and frail” from some topsoil used in the garden.