MYSTERY surrounds the death of a “bubbly” woman found dead in a Hilton hotel room after a champagne night out.
The family of Charlotte Bowcock, 26, are desperate for answers about what happened on August 15 last year after she went for dinner with a man at a restaurant in Manchester.
She went back to his “huge” presidential suite at the Hilton hotel in the city centre, an inquest into her death heard.
But she never returned home.
Instead, her family got a knock on the door from police officers to say she was dead.
Ten months on, they are still haunted by what happened in her final hours.
A post-mortem revealed Charlotte had ingested cocaine and her prescription medication.
But her family told the inquest at Manchester Coroners' Court on Thursday that she had “always been so careful”.
They believe there are still question marks over the details of what happened that night.
She had “never taken drugs and drank very little alcohol,” her family said.
In fact, months before her death, she had been in agony with period pains and asked her mum to drive her to A&E when she was scared of overdosing on two paracetamol she took earlier than she should have, the inquest was told.
'ALWAYS CAREFUL' WITH MEDICATIONS
Her dad, Sydney Bowcock told the inquest: "This is where she was at with her medications, she was always careful."
So when it emerged that cocaine was involved – the family wanted to know how.
During the inquest, coroner Zak Golombeck read statements from Paul Jackson – the man who had been with her that night, the paramedics who came when he called 999 at 8am and police officers who arrived to search the room.
He said that she had met Mr Jackson, 52, at Australasia in Deansgate.
Footage showed them drinking champagne and cocktails.
They went back to the hotel at around 1am.
Mr Jackson then left the room at 2am to get two cans of lemonade and chocolate from reception.
Nobody else left their room or went inside until 8am when the paramedics arrived, the inquest heard.
Mr Jackson, who was not at the inquest, initially told paramedics that the pair had taken cocaine and had been drinking, but later said they hadn't taken any drugs to police and that he “didn't want Charlotte to get into trouble,” the inquest heard.
Det Insp Mark Astbury, who went to the hotel at around 8.20am, told the inquest there had been “no evidence” of drug use in the room but that it was impossible to say if the pair had taken cocaine there, at the bars, in the toilets or before they arrived.
He also said that there had been no-third party involvement in Charlotte's death and that Mr Jackson was never treated as a suspect.
But the coroner declined to let the family ask him any more questions about the events on August 15 and 16, saying: "It is simply not relevant to the purpose of this inquest."
Other body-worn footage from that morning showed white powder on the floor but DI Astbury said he didn't see anything suspicious when he searched the room.
Patrick Cassidy, a barrister representing the family, asked whether the investigation would have changed if he had spotted the white powder.
The coroner said he would be unable to allow him to ask further questions about the white powder, adding: "Unless you are suggesting criminality and then suspension of this hearing."
Sydney Bowcock also told the inquest about Ms Bowcock's mental health struggles.
She had been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, but Mr Bowcock said she “still got up every morning”.
He said she was “very, very sensible” and had been studying to become a nurse.
He told the coroner: "I was thinking of bringing her here today because it is what we are left with now. Her ashes.
"I may come over as a crazed, demented and grief-stricken parent and maybe one or two of these are true.
"Where do you go from here? All I am asking is that the police look into this."
'DRUG-RELATED DEATH'
The coroner took 25 minutes to decide the verdict of a 'drug-related death'.
He said Ms Bowcock had died from cardiotoxicity after taking her prescription medication and cocaine at some point in the evening of August 15 or in the early hours of August 16.
Speaking after the inquest, the family said they felt “let down” and “disappointed”.
Speaking to the MEN, Ms Bowcock's dad Sydney, who filed an official complaint to the police about their investigation, said: "We've not had any closure.
"I was shut down at the inquest. I know it is not a criminal court but one of the things the inquest is for is to find out how she came to her death – this is what I wanted to know, how. We are chasing the answer, how?
"We can only hope that somebody listens to us.
"We feel so strongly about this that we actually have sold our home to accommodate for cash to fight this, we are not going to let it go.
"It's not justice to me.
"I'm not going to rest until this is resolved. I'm not a deranged person, I just want justice."
A spokesman from Greater Manchester Police said: "Firstly, our thoughts and deepest sympathies remain with Mr Bowcock and his family at this difficult time.
"GMP received a complaint from Mr Bowcock, which was in turn dealt with by the City of Manchester District.
"A letter outlining the outcome of the complaint was sent to Mr Bowcock on the 6th October 2020, which addressed the complaint in full. This was then subject to review by the Mayor's Office.
"The review was not upheld, and the matter was referred to the Coroner's Office which concluded its inquest on Thursday 10 June.
"GMP is always open to learning and improving where appropriate, however in this case GMP found no misconduct and a thorough investigation was carried out.
"Our thoughts are with friends and family of Charlotte following her tragic death."
A spokesman for Manchester Coroner's Court said they would be unable to comment on a case following judicial proceedings.
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