A fire that tragically killed a mum-of-seven is believed to have been caused by a candle, an inquest has heard. Marie Bellingham was found dead in her home at Siskin Close, Haverfordwest on April 19, 2021, following the fatal blaze.
An inquest into her death on Friday heard how the 46-year-old mother had been drinking vodka with a neighbour shortly before the fire broke out, Wales Online reports. Reading evidence PC James Lang told coroner Mark Layton how Ms Bellingham took medication for her mental health and had tried to 'end her own life' on several occasions.
He said following one of her suicide attempts, her neighbour Claire Bailey began visiting her home twice a day to make sure she was taking her medication. On April 19, 2021, Ms Bailey visited Ms Bellingham's to ensure she had taken her pills and returned later that night to have some drinks with her neighbour before going home at 9pm.
Later that night, Ms Bailey heard Ms Bellingham's smoke alarm going off and went outside to see her neighbour's property was on fire. She alerted the emergency services at 10.40pm but Marie Bellingham was sadly found dead in her front bedroom on the first floor.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Petya Nedeva concluded Ms Bellingham's medical cause of death to be down to carbon monoxide poisoning and the house fire. Toxicology reports revealed that Ms Bellingham's blood alcohol level was 257mg which is over three times the legal drink driving limit.
Sertraline was also found in her blood along with therapeutic levels of diazepam. Dr Nedeva said: "This in combination will have likely increased the risk of the fire starting and reduced the chance of [Ms Bellingham] escaping...following the post-mortem investigation I can conclude she died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning due to toxic smoke gas inhalation in a house fire."
The inquest heard Ms Bellingham had been smoking cigarettes that evening but they are not believed to be what started the fire. It was also heard the doors to her home were locked at the time of the incident.
Evidence read out from reporting scientist Huw Turk who investigated the scene concluded that the blaze broke out in the downstairs lounge near the sofa. His report found a 'naked flame' was likely to be the cause.
This was backed up by evidence brought to light by fire safety manager who confirmed there were candles in the lounge. He said: "[The] most probable cause of the fire is a naked flame in the vicinity of the front of the house."
Coroner Mr Layton said: "What that suggests to me is that there was no third-party involvement and no-one else that would have been responsible for starting the fire. Whilst [Ms Bellingham] did have some mental health issues and in the past made attempts to self-harm I don't think the evidence here suggests suicide.
"She was upstairs in the bedroom and the fire started downstairs near the sofa." Mr Layton concluded Ms Bellingham's cause of death as accidental and passed his condolences on to the family.
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