Media coverage of Inquests

Here you will find a collection of media articles covering Inquests which CRY families have been involved in. 

Many of these articles relate to the Inquest into the death of Lisa Jane Browne.  For convenience, articles relating to this specific case are listed separately on the second half of this page.

Date

Publication

Article title

A teenager was literally scared to death by the sudden ringing of her mobile telephone, an inquest was told yesterday.  It rang with an alarm call at 7am and Kasia Ber, 17, was so startled it triggered heart failure.  Unknown to anyone, she was suffering from a coronary condition in which attacks can be triggered by a sudden shock or an unexpected loud noise. 

Phone 'shocked' teenager to death

The parents of Kasia Ber are calling for more research into sudden death among young people as it is thought that a mobile phone ring may have sparked their daughter's death.

John and Diane Ber talk to ITV Tyne Tees News (Video Clip)

The parents of Kasia Ber talk about their loss, and CRY's campaign.  Dari Taylor MP criticises GPs who dismiss possible cardiac symptoms in young people as just stress.

Talented teen died from heart defect

A teenager found dead by his mother suffered a suspected heart defect that reduced the amount of blood being pumped around his body, an inquest heard.

Silent killer

Football fanatic Jonathan Leigh, 20, died suddenly during the night at his Ackworth Road home in September last year after an electrical malfunction caused his heart to stop beating. 

Battle after son's death  

A grieving dad whose student son collapsed and died without warning has launched a campaign to save other families from the tragedy of sudden adult death syndrome.

Tragedy of bride-to-be

 A 33 year-old Hertford woman who was due to marry later this year inexplicably collapsed at work and died. 

Soccer-mad Adam Payne, from Westerham road, died two years ago after collapsing in front of team mates during a football coaching session at the Swallows Leisure Centre.  The Minterne Junior School pupil's grieving parents called at the time for all children to receive compulsory ECG checks and they highlighted a charity called CRY.

'I just knew it was my little Khalid in that ambulance'

Consultant pathologist Jennifer Dhundee said he appeared to be a healthy boy.  "My opinion is that his heart had a sudden abnormal rhythm," she said.  "I suspect there was nothing that could have alerted you to this – it is very rare in children."

Tests for family struck by tragedies

Twelve members of a family have undergone medical tests after a mother and son both died unexpectedly 20 years apart. 

A 'cry' for Louise

Sue has done a lot of fund-raising and awareness work for CRY and this week students at Runshaw College are holding the Louise Worth CRY Appeal where everyone will bring in £1, or whatever they can spare, to go towards CRY’s work. 

Parents' grief at mystery death

The parents of a 17-year boy will never know for certain why he collapsed and died while doing his paper round. 

'I wouldn't want anyone else to go through the pain we have'

A mother today urged parents to get their children checked if there is the slightest chance they could have heart problems.  Jayne Carter said that they must act now if they want to be sure their child doesn’t collapse and die like her 13-year-old daughter Emma. 

03/09/04

The Northern Echo

Just a heartbeat away from tragedy

After Anne-Marie fainted for the third time her parents were understandably worried.  But the fit, healthy 13-year-old from Ferryhill seemed none the worse for her fainting fits and three different doctors, two GP’s and accident an accident and emergency doctor, could find nothing wrong. 

Double tragedy as fit son and his mother drop dead 19 years apart

Twenty members of a family are being screened after the sudden deaths of a mother and son in similar circumstances – 19 years apart. 

07/07/04

Lancashire Evening Post

Heart attack linked to death of groom-to-be, 21

A young man who collapsed in a nightclub and later died had unknowingly suffered a heart attack three weeks previously, an inquest was told.

01/07/04

Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough)

Grieving mum's vow after tragedy

The unexpected death of her teenage son prompted a grieving mum to help others at risk of a similar fate.

05/03/04

Ealing & Acton Gazette

Why did he die?
The Coroner passed a verdict of death by natural causes although mystery surrounds why an apparently fit and healthy boy could died without warning.

04/03/04

Birmingham Evening Mail

Girl's mystery death may have been Long QT syndrome
The Pathologist said Alison died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome which may have been caused by Long QT syndrome.  Long QT can only be identified by an ECG heart test while someone is alive

04/03/04

Daily Mail

Couple's agony as a third daughter falls victim to mystery sudden death
Pathologist said the hereditary condition could also have been responsible of the deaths of their two other daughters.  Tests are now being carried out on the rest of the family -  It is only detectable by Electrocardiogram (ECG) tests when people are alive.

23/01/04

Yorkshire Evening Post

So sudden, so hard to bear
The baby now nine months old, stands a 50-50 chance of having the condition also, as do other immediate members of the family.  All are awaiting screening and expert medical checks.

Date

Publication

Article title

Killed by a clock

Yesterday Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg ruled Lisa died of heart failure due to the disorder.  Four relatives were later successfully treated for the illness.  

Shock of alarm clock ringing killed nurse

A paediatric nurse died from heart failure brought on by the shock of hearing her alarm clock ringing, an inquest was

A nurse died from heart failure when her alarm clock went off at 6am. Lisa Browne, 27, had a heart disorder and the shock caused it to stop.

Nurse was killed by shock of her ringing alarm clock

A nurse died from heart failure brought on by the shock of hearing her alarm clock ring, an inquest heard yesterday. Lisa Browne, 27, had an undiagnosed disorder which stopped her heart beating after the sudden shock of her 6am alarm call. Experts discovered last year that the paediatric nurse, who died in 1998, had the rare disorder Long QT Syndrome.

Nurse's heart stopped at the shock of her

Nurse Lisa Jane Browne died from heart failure brought on by the shock of a ringing alarm clock, an inquest ruled yesterday. 

Alarm-call nurse's death 'preventable'

The sudden shock of Lisa Jane Browne's 6am alarm call triggered massive heart failure because the 27-year-old who specialised in children's care suffered from an undiagnosed heart abnormality. 

An inquest is being reopened into the death of a Chester nurse thought to have been killed by the shock of a ringing alarm clock. 

Lisa Jane Browne, 27, who died in 1998, suffered from an undiagnosed heart abnormality which caused her heart to stop beating after the sudden shock of her 6am alarm call. 

A fresh inquest is to be held into the death of a young nurse. Countess of Chester paediatric nurse Lisa Jane Browne died suddenly in January, 1998 with the Cheshire coroner later recording an open verdict.

A new inquest is being held today (Friday) into a nurse thought to have been killed by the shock of her early morning alarm, making legal history.

Fresh inquest to be held into death caused by alarm clock

Experts could not find a reason why she died in January 1998, but tests by Swedish geneticists later showed she had the electrical abnormality in her heart. 

Mum wins battle for fresh inquest into nurse's death

Yesterday at London's High Court Mrs Justice Hallett and Mr Justice Nelson ordered coroner Nicholas Rheinberg to hold a new inquest into the death of Lisa, a paediatric nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital. 

Mother turns detective to learn what killed her daughter at 27

Doreen Harley, who is originally from Longton, has found that Lisa had a little-known condition called Long QT Syndrome, an hereditary disorder of the heart’s electrical rhythm which can be a cause of SADS.  

Appeal to Coroner

A Coroner was this week weighing up whether to reopen an inquest into the sudden death of a nurse.  The move comes after scientists finally proved Countess of Chester Hospital paediatric nurse Lisa Jane Browne died because of a genetic electrical abnormality in her heart. 

Tests shed light on Lisa's sudden death

A coroner was this week weighing up whether to re-open an inquest into the sudden death of a nurse.  The move comes after scientists finally proved Lisa Jane Browne died because of a genetic electrical abnormality in her heart. 

Inquest on nurse to be re-opened?

An inquest is set to be re-opened into the death of a Chester nurse who died of sudden heart failure after being awoken by her alarm clock. 

Nurse died after early morning alarm call

A mother says she now has the final proof her 27-year-old daughter was killed by the sound of her early-morning alarm clock.  Nurse Lisa Browne died on January 10, 1998, but an inquest could not determine the cause of her death. 

Sudden death mystery solved

Nurse Lisa Jane Browne, aged 27, suffered from an undiagnosed heart abnormality which caused her heart to stop beating after the sudden shock of her 6am alarm call on the morning of January 12, 1998.

Death by alarm clock

Lisa Jane Browne, 27, was found dead in bed after her alarm went off at 6am.  Doctors believe the shock of the loud bell sent Lisa’s heart into an abnormal rhythm as a result of rare hear disorder Long Q-T Syndrome.

Call for inquiry on alarm death case

Mrs Harley is campaigning with the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young for all people aged between 14 to 35 to be offered free screening. 

The truth about my girl's death

A mum’s seven-year campaign was vindicated last night after scientists proved her daughter was killed by a ringing alarm clock.  Swedish DNA tests confirmed nurse Lisa Jane Browne, 27, died because of an abnormality which made her heart stop from the sudden noise in January 1998. 

Alarm clock tragedy mum calls for new probe

A Coroner may re-open an inquest into the death of a nurse who died of sudden heart failure after being suddenly awoken by her alarm clock.  New DNA evidence has ruled that Lisa Jane Browne DID die of a rare heart abnormality which could now spark a fresh probe into her death.

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