A young woman caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing overdosed after being haunted by flashbacks of the atrocity, an inquest heard.
Eve Aston struggled to come to terms with the tragic events of May 22, 2017, BirminghamLive reports.
The 20-year-old had difficulty coping with what had happened to the 22 people who were killed and was traumatised by thoughts of terrorist Salam Abedi every time she went to sleep, a hearing was told.
The 'bubbly, daddy's girl' was found unresponsive in her room in Wolverhampton by her dad Andrew on July 23.
READ MORE: The firebrand human rights QC giving a voice to the victims of the Manchester Arena outrage
She had consumed fatal levels of prescription drug, Black Country Coroners' Court heard.
The pair had gone to the Ariana Grande concert together and were caught in a 'crush' as they attempted to flee the scene.
Mr Aston told the inquest into his daughter's death: "We could see a change in her, she wasn't the person she used to be. She turned to drugs.
"She was the life and soul of the party, so happy, so full of life. That's why it was such a shock.
"She kept getting flashbacks - I, myself, I still suffer. She was affected by it. She said every time she was closing her eyes to go to sleep, she could see the bomber."
Toxicologists discovered 'very high concentrations' of an antidepressant and an opiate painkiller in Ms Aston's blood, which had been prescribed to family members.
'One or both drugs resulted in her death', with levels 'normally associated with fatalities', the court was told on Thursday (November 4).
Mr Aston added: "Recently we started seeing signs of the old Eve coming back. The last six weeks of her life, she was more of the bubbly Eve, happier.
"She was looking forward to see KSI a Youtuber who was playing in Birmingham in October. She even had a countdown on her phone for that."
Unemployed Ms Aston had gone to bed at 11pm after spending the evening watching television with her family.
Giving evidence, Mr Aston recalled hearing his daughter on the phone at about 2am but did not see her during the day.
Her parents decided to check on her in the evening, expecting to pull her out of bed, but discovered her dead at about 8.30pm.
Mr Aston, who cares for his wife Amanda, said: "The night before, she was acting normally. We were watching a programme we like watching.
"At 11pm, she said she was going to bed. She said goodnight and "love you" like she always did."
He added: "With Eve, it was not unusual for nobody to see her. Eve had her own routine where we wouldn't see her but we presumed she would be OK because she was an adult.
"I went upstairs, I was expecting to say "come on Eve, wake up, you need to get into some kind of routine" and that's when I saw her.
"I knew straight away."
Ms Aston had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and was referred to mental health services but did not follow up on appointments.
The hopeful mechanic - of The Terrace, Finchfield - had cut her arm before and 'flippantly' claimed she would kill herself, her father said.
Her family scoured her bedroom following her death but found no evidence she had intended to kill herself, the court was told.
Mr Aston - who said his wife could not bear to attend the inquest as the death had 'knocked her for six' - said his daughter was a 'normal girl' before the bombing.
He said: "We were there that night. We heard the explosion and quite a lot of people came running towards us.
"We were on the other side of the arena, there was a bit of a crush.
"We didn't really witness any of the carnage. We did see people outside with bloody legs.
"We didn't actually know until we were driving home what had happened until we heard it on the radio."
Black Country coroner Zafar Siddique recorded a conclusion of drug-related death after declaring he could not be sure Wordsley-born Ms Aston intended to kill herself.
He said: "She had some difficulty coping with what happened. She used a number of recreational drugs, including cannabis, and was open with her family about that.
"She talked flippantly about taking her own life but the family believe she did not really mean that and it wasn't said with any intent.
"These were drugs that were not prescribed to her but other family members. It appears, on balance, she has taken these from other family members.
"Based on the evidence, I can't say whether she intended to take her own life, whether this was a deliberate overdose or accidental overdose.
"It's not clear on the evidence.
"She clearly was planning ahead. It doesn't look like there was any intention to take her own life at that stage."
More than £8,000 was raised online for Ms Aston's funeral following her tragic death.
Loved ones also released dozens of balloons in her memory to Ariana Grande's song 'One Last Time' at Wolverhampton's Bantock Park in tribute.
Heartbroken mum Amanda said at the time: "From the moment she was born she was a jolly soul, she had a very funny sense of humour and was a daddy's girl.
"She went to the Ariana Grande concert with her father and was made up to be there, Ariana was her idol. She could sing every note."
Abedi blew himself up at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, while his brother Hashem is serving life in prison for helping build the bomb.
