Boyfriend smothered partner to death in 'freak accident' as they slept on sofa

A former chef accidentally killed his girlfriend by falling asleep on top of her, an inquest heard. 13st Robert Trigg and 8st Susan Nicholson had been snuggled together on the sofa when he rolled over and suffocated his partner of four months. The heavy sleeper, 47, awoke next morning to find the ex-insurance worker, 52, dead and was initially questioned by police on suspicion of accidental manslaughter but was released without charge.

Robert attended the inquest and heard that it was possible Susan had been smothered in as little as 15 seconds. Home Office pathologist Dr Simon Paul told the coroner: 'Susan died as a result of somebody sleeping on top of her.' The inquest heard that Susan and Robert snuggled up together on the sofa of the flat they shared and fell asleep in each other's arms. However, during the course of the night Mr Trigg rolled on top of Ms Nicholson's head, suffocating her.



He awoke the next morning with his torso lying diagonally across her face. Her face had turned purple and she was unresponsive and in the same position she had been throughout the night. The post-mortem examination found pinpoint haemorrhages in one of her eyes, her face, neck and upper chest - consistent with external pressure. Dr Paul told the inquest in Worthing, West Sussex that it was possible the pressure lasted as little as 15 seconds.

In recording a verdict of accidental death, West Sussex Coroner Michael Kendall said: 'There is no doubt that Susan's death was caused by Mr Trigg overlaying on her face. There is no evidence whatsoever that that was part of an altercation, violence or an incident of aggression of any kind. We cannot be sure precisely how Mr Trigg came to lie across Susan's face but the evidence is that he did and that immediately caused the death.'