A VERDICT of misadventure has been ruled in an inquest into the death of a woman who died after taking an overdose of morphine in an effort to ease her back pain.

Karen Elizabeth Elkins, 55, was found dead at her home in Oakdale on Wednesday March 7, with an inquest into her death held last week.

Her husband David, a long-distance lorry driver who sometimes worked away from home, said he had spoken to his wife on the phone the day before she died and she had told him she had pain in her back.

But then when he was unable to reach her the following day he called her son Kevin and he, as well as Mrs Elkin’s ex-partner, went to her house, where they found her dead in her bed.

An empty pack of morphine tablets - which she had previously taken but had not been prescribed at the time - was found by her body, and a post-mortem recorded her cause of death as opiate toxicity due to “excessive use of morphine”.

Although Mrs Elkins had an eating disorder and was sometimes depressed, Mr Elkins said he did not believe she had intended to kill herself.

“I know she wouldn’t take her own life because she had a dog, and the dog was her best friend,” he said.

“If Karen was going to take her own life like that she would have arranged for someone to take care of Toby (the dog) because he was 14 and deaf.”

He added: “She had her days where she was down, but then when she was good she was her normal, happy-go-lucky, smiling self.

“But when she was depressed she would get down.

“It never got to the point where she wanted to take her own life.”

Recording a verdict of misadventure, senior coroner for Gwent Wendy James said: “It appeared she had self-medicated and had taken the morphine in an attempt to relieve her symptoms.

“After taking the morphine Karen went to bed and just didn’t wake up.

“It seems to me from the evidence that she had consumed the morphine to try and ease her pain and that has taken an unforeseen an unexpected turn.”

She added it was unclear where Mrs Elkins had got the morphine tablets from, although, as she had previously bought diet pills on the internet, it is possible she had obtained them online.