A WOMAN who once jumped out of a first floor window in Darlington after being set alight is now “at peace” after being found dead in her flat, an inquest heard.
Rebecca Major, 36, was found dead at her home in Curzon Terrace, York, last November.
An inquest held on Friday heard she had a history of heroin use and a post-mortem concluded that she had suffered respiratory failure associated with the drug.
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Speaking at the inquest, police officer DC Sarah Scott, said there were no suspicious circumstances and she had found burnt foil in Ms Major's lounge which suggested drug misuse.
Coroner Jon Heath therefore concluded that her death was drugs-related and Ms Major's mother Lorraine McClaren said: “Thank God she is at peace now.”
The inquest also heard that Ms Major had suffered a fractured skull and 40 per cent burns in an incident in 2014 which had left her with memory difficulties and post traumatic stress disorder.
The Northern Echo reported that in 2014, while living in Darlington, Ms Major was the victim of an horrific attack which saw her then-boyfriend Edward McArthur jailed for 15 years and six months.
Firefighters at the scene of the attack on Geneva Road in 2014
At the time, Ms Major was living with McArthur on Geneva Road when he doused her in petrol and set fire to her.
McArthur, who was 40 at the time, admitted grievous bodily harm with intent and arson with intent to endanger life.
Months after the event, Ms Major told the Echo she was still suffering from serious health issues – both physically and mentally.
She said the amount of medication she was on was “unreal” and she suffered from anxiety and flashbacks.
In 2017, the Northern Echo's sister paper The Press reported in 2017 that Ms Major had been attacked again, this time by a female former friend.
York Crown Court was told she was dragged to the ground and kicked and punched by Kathleen Salkeld in two separate assaults in Clifton, York.
Salkeld, 23, of Mowden Terrace, Darlington, who was tried in her absence after failing to turn up for her trial, was jailed for three years.
The court heard that Ms Major had been brain damaged after the earlier attack by her boyfriend.
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