The inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley took place yesterday (Monday, June 26) – with the mum-of-two’s frightening final moments being detailed.
Nicola went missing on January 27, before being found dead more than three weeks later in February.
Inquest into death of Nicola Bulley
On January 27, Nicola, a 45-year-old mother-of-two went missing while out walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Her disappearance sparked a three-week-long search. On February 19, her body was found in the river by two walkers about a mile downstream from where she’d gone missing.
Yesterday saw a two-day-long inquest into her death open at Preston County Hall. During the first day of the inquest yesterday, Nicola’s cause of death was revealed.
Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour – who carried out the post-mortem – put Nicola’s cause of death down to drowning.
Nicola Bulley cause of death revealed at inquest
During the inquest, Dr Armour said that she believes Nicola was still alive when she fell into the river in January. She also added that there had been no sign that Nicola had been harmed or assaulted before her death.
The inquest was told “flecks and fragments of dirt” were found inside Nicola’s throat. There was also water in and around her lungs. Nicola also had bruises on her body.
The inquest also saw Nicola’s final moments detailed. A video filmed on PC Thackray’s bodycam showed him swimming down the river in a “fairly buoyant suit”. He went from the bench to where Nicola’s body was found.
Once Nicola was in the water, she travelled at a “metre a second” downstream in the “steady flow” of the river. In the video clip, PC Thackray shows how strong the current is.
“I’m into the middle of the river now and it is pushing me down towards the weir. If she did fall in she would probably be floating and be pushed along,” he says in the clip.
Nicola’s final moments detailed
He then said: “If I were to sit down in that water now you can see that it’s taking me along faster. It’s now probably at a slow jogging pace.”
The river was also around 4˚C on the day Nicola fell in, so “almost freezing”. “If she fell in, the muscles would probably seize, making it difficult to swim properly,” PC Thackray said.
Professor Michael Tipton, a University of Portsmouth expert said that just two breaths of water would have been a “lethal dose”. He also said that she would have lost consciousness almost instantly.
It was also revealed that it would have taken two to three minutes to reach a point where Nicola could climb out of the river if she had been floating along in it. PC Thackray said this would have been an “awfully long time in very cold water”.
Read more: Nicola Bulley update: Fate of police who gave out her personal details confirmed
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