A porn star who killed herself by taking an overdose of a recreational drug two weeks after her “beloved” partner had died from using the same drug, an inquest has heard.
Karen Cook, who modelled under the name Sophie Anderson, was found dead at a Travelodge hotel in Basingstoke, on November 30 2023, an inquest heard.
A post-mortem examination found the 36-year-old had taken a quantity of the drug which was 10 times the strength of a fatal dose, the inquest at Winchester heard.
Coroner Jason Pegg told the hearing that she had been found unconscious by the side of her partner of three years, Oliver Spedding, a former member of the Crystal Palace youth football team, at another hotel, the Days Inn Hotel at the Winchester Services on the M3 on November 15 2023.
Mr Spedding, 34, died after taking a dose of the drug which was three times the fatal level while Ms Cook had survived, the inquest heard.
She was assessed by a mental health professional three days later and was discharged into the care of her father, Paul Cook, despite concerns from her sister that she could be a suicide risk, the inquest was told.
Mr Pegg told the hearing that Ms Cook had described to medics how she and Mr Spedding were “drug addicts” and had used the recreational drug every two hours while on November 15 they had been taking it every 20 minutes because “it wasn’t touching them”.
He said Ms Cook had a history of anxiety and suicide attempts and had been suffering from necrosis of the skin from a failed breast implant which had been making her anxious about her career.
Mr Pegg said an A4 notebook was found by the side of Ms Cook which included a number of letters to her family including one to Mr Spedding which had been written after his death.
It stated: “Good morning my beautiful husband, this morning I knew you were shining down on me when I was training and doing pull-ups, doing five sets of pull-ups, I could feel your presence.”
It continued: “I am so happy but nervous about seeing you, no-one knows I am going to join you, I kept it all to myself, I am going to do one last video tonight.
“Final destination, this is the last chapter of Sophie Anderson’s life, I am broken, I am f*****, I am insane, I truly and utterly love my Oliver.”
In a letter to her father, she also wrote: “I was so happy, now I will continue to be when I join Oliver tonight in the spirit world, all I know is that he will be there waiting for me.”
Mr Cook told the inquest: “Karen was a very caring and affectionate person, she had definite vulnerabilities in her character.”
He added: “She was a consummate actress and she could hide all sorts of things and she pulled the wool over my eyes quite a lot.”
Recording a conclusion of suicide, Mr Pegg said: “It’s quite clear to me that since Oliver Spedding’s passing, Karen desperately missed him.”
At a separate inquest into the death of Mr Spedding, Mr Pegg said that a post-mortem examination found he died of a combination of the recreational drug, a second drug, and alcohol, and he was just over the drink-drive limit.
He said that Ms Cook had called 999 before she had passed out on November 15 and she was found unconscious, but Mr Spedding had died by the time the emergency services had arrived.
Recording a conclusion of misadventure, Mr Pegg said that Mr Spedding’s overdose “was a dreadful accident”.
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