A mum has shared the six horrifying words an undertaker confessed about her daughter after she was left to die by her boyfriend.
Kimberley McAssey was found dead in bed at her boyfriend Ryan Sheridan’s flat in Prestwich, Greater Manchester in February 2021. The 29 year-old had ‘gone cold’ at around 6am after the pair had drunk alcohol and taken ecstasy together, Rochdale Coroner’s Court was told.
After finding his girlfriend unresponsive in his bed, 'coward' Sheridan waited 30 hours before his mum phoned the police. A coroner concluded last week that the cause of Kimberley's death 'could not be determined' due to her post-mortem being affected by a delay to call emergency services.
Her mum Karrie, 53, recalled a conversation with the undertaker about the state of Kimberley's body. She told Manchester Evening News: "He said to me 'in all his 30 years as an undertaker, he'd never seen anybody so decomposed'."
Kimberley had gone to see Ryan Sheridan at his flat on Sherbourne Court, in Prestwich, Greater Manchester on the evening before she died. The pair had a drink before taking the drug MDMA and moving to the bedroom for sexual intercourse. Coroner Joanne Kearsley concluded that Kimberley was 'virtually unresponsive' by the end of that activity.
Sheridan never called 999 for medical help or to notify emergency services of Kimberley's death. There was a 30-hour gap before his mum, Emma Heydon, eventually called 999 on February 21, 2021. Kimberley's sister Rea, 30, told the Manchester Evening News: "If they had been contacted straight away then the inquest would have been able to determine the cause of Kim's death. The only reason they couldn't was because it was prolonged for so long."
The inconclusive verdict at the inquest has left the family with unanswered questions over what happened. The coroner had noted Sheridan was the sole witness to the events of February 20, 2021, but he refused to attend the inquest. Sheridan is currently serving a 28-month sentence for Class A drug supply offences at HMP Hindley.
Kimberley's mum also recalled the moment police first told her that Kimberley had died, and said: "[The officer] walked into the kitchen. She said 'I've come to inform you of your daughter's death'. I said 'no, you've probably got someone wrong'. She said 'no I've got her bank card'."
Kimberley was a mum to Maddison, now 11, and an aunt to Max, who is now seven - and the tragic circumstances of her death has left older members of the family struggling with difficult conversations with the children.
Her and Max shared the same birthday - something which his mum, Kimberley's sister Katie, describes as 'a gift'. Katie, 28, added: "He has one little memory of her. It just makes me sad." Maddison is also 'struggling' to come to terms with what happened to her mum, and Katie explained: "It's like it's getting worse as the years go on. She's asking questions we just can't answer.