British holidaymaker dies after snorting killer cocktail in Bangkok
Mum’s heartbreak as ‘caring’ daughter dies after mistaking heroin mix for cocaine
A fun-loving British holidaymaker died in a Bangkok hotel room after snorting what she thought was cocaine, only for it to be a deadly cocktail of heroin, tranquillisers and sleeping pills, an inquest has heard.
Rebecca Turner, had been travelling in Thailand with her partner when the pair took a line of white powder, unaware it was a lethal blend of drugs.
Moments later, 36 year old Turner and her 32 year old boyfriend, Sam Melnick, were dead.
Now her heartbroken mum has issued a desperate warning to tourists tempted by street drugs in Southeast Asia.
“It’s so, so dangerous out there,” said Anita Turner, from Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. “There are loads of drug deaths all the time. It’s shocking. I would warn people to stay away from recreational drugs out there because you simply don’t know what’s in it.”
The 64 year old grieving mum slammed Thai police for turning a blind eye, claiming the drugs were bought just yards from a police station on a street notorious for tourist deaths.
“There have been multiple deaths on that one road. Loads of people have died and yet the Thai police don’t want to know. I’m absolutely heartbroken. It’s been devastating for the whole family.”
Turner had flown out for a friend’s wedding in Laos, returning to Thailand with her boyfriend, a self-employed gas engineer. The couple checked into the Khaosan Palace Hotel on March 12 last year and were due to leave four days later.
But by noon on the final day, friends raised the alarm when Turner failed to respond.
Hotel staff used a key card to enter their room and discovered the British woman dead on the floor near the bathroom, while her boyfriend was lifeless on the bed.
A ziplock bag of white powder was found, with more powder smeared on the sink beside a rolled-up banknote. Tests later confirmed the substance was heroin mixed with prescription drugs.
A British post-mortem revealed Rebecca had morphine, diazepam, trazodone, codeine and other sedatives in her system. The coroner heard she had a history of anxiety, depression, and past substance misuse, but had been looking forward to the trip and had plans to reunite with friends.
Coroner Laura Bradford ruled out suicide, concluding Rebecca died from a drug-related incident and offered her sympathies to the family.
Anita, who has travelled to Thailand three times since her daughter’s death in a quest for answers, now plans to return again this June to support schoolchildren in Bangkok, a cause close to her daughter’s heart.
“Rebecca really wanted to help them, so I’m doing it for her. But most of all, I just want to say: please don’t do drugs out there. It’s so dangerous and you don’t know what’s in it. It’s just not worth it.
“Rebecca was a lovely, caring person. She was happy-go-lucky really, and we loved her. We are absolutely heartbroken.”
Her tragic death mirrors another fatal case in the region. Last year, six tourists, including British trainee solicitor Simone White, died in Laos after drinking vodka spiked with deadly methanol at a £6 (265 baht)-a-night hostel.
Just 4ml of methanol, often added to dodgy booze to boost potency, can be lethal. Despite emergency treatment, all six perished, and another dozen were left needing urgent hospital care.
From tainted tipples to deadly street drugs, Southeast Asia continues to prove a dangerous playground for unsuspecting tourists chasing a high, with heartache the only guaranteed trip.
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