The mourning father of a care home assistant who fell to her death from the fire escape of a nightclub died on the day of her funeral after suffering a fatal epileptic fit, an inquest heard today.
Katie Davenport, 23, from Liverpool, was on the balcony after getting into an ‘altercation’ during a night out with work colleagues at Hey Amigos in Southport, Merseyside.
The inquest heard that she had been moved to the fire escape by a door supervisor at around 2am on September 4 last year. When he later turned to check on her, he saw Katie fall.
The 23-year-old suffered traumatic brain injuries and had brain surgery at The Walton Centre in Liverpool but died 13 days later.
A statement from Katie’s sister Lianne Clegg read at the inquest revealed that the family took another devastating blow on the night of her funeral as her father had an epileptic fit and passed away on October 14.
‘I can’t even begin to describe the pain and heartache we have gone through since losing our beautiful Katie,’ Lianne’s statement read.
‘She was the most beautiful, funniest girl with the most infectious laugh.
‘Katie had struggled with her mental health over the years but reached out for help and along with the help and support of her partner Niall had got to a place in her life where she was confident, outgoing and loving life.
‘She had recently passed her driving test, saving up for a mortgage, booked a holiday and got a second job in healthcare – a job she adored doing.
‘She worked extremely hard she was motivated and determined to save as much money as she could to live a happy and comfortable life.
‘I have sat for months and months and tried to put together the night’s events. This has been painful and difficult and most of all frustrating. The impact this has had on our family has been devastating – not only losing Katie, we also lost her Dad a few weeks later after he took an epileptic fit the night of her funeral and sadly passed away.
‘I have been to the fire escape of Hey Amigos, spoke with the staff that was working that night and also spoke with the people she was out with.
‘I, along with other family members, received a Snapchat from Katie 20 minutes before the accident, she was happy, dancing and laughing on the dancefloor of Hey Amigos showing no signs of distress or upset.
‘Her partner Niall was in contact with her via messages all night messages that show she was not upset or distressed and, in fact, having a really good night out with her work colleagues, a rare night out as Katie very rarely drank or socialised.’
Senior coroner Julie Goulding confirmed that Katie died as a result of significant brain injuries, adding that there was ‘insufficient evidence she wanted to take her own life’.
Katie’s funeral took place at West Lancashire Cemetery and Crematorium on October 14.