A woman who died in her sleep had accidentally overdosed on morphine, an inquest has found.

Mum of three, Sheena Conway, 37, was found lifeless in her bed by partner Craig Hodgson when he woke next to her on Saturday, March 3 this year.

Mr Hodgson had joined his partner of 15 years in bed at their home in Thornhill, Dewsbury , in the early hours of that day.

But when he woke, he rolled over to find she had tragically passed away.

He ran to get help from neighbours, who started CPR on the bedroom floor.

Sheena Conway of Thornhill, Dewsbury
Sheena Conway of Thornhill, Dewsbury

Paramedics arrived within minutes, but they pronounced her dead at the scene.

Detectives from Kirklees CID investigated after a mix-up with the initial cause of death, but they found there were no suspicious circumstances.

A post-mortem by Dr Lisa Barker concluded that toxic levels of morphine caused her to die, exacerbated by her suffering from pneumonia.


At the inquest into her sudden death at Bradford Coroner’s Court, family members told assistant coroner, Kirsty Gomersal, that Sheena had suffered debilitating pain for a number of years.

Bradford Magistrates' Court where inquests are held at Bradford Coroner's Court inside the complex

Sheena’s mother, Linda Conway, said her daughter was a “bright, happy, bubbly character who would help anyone”.

She added: “She never said said she wanted to take her own life and I don’t believe she did. I believe it was an accident.”

She told the court her daughter had a healthy childhood but began smoking in her teens and had been diagnosed with COPD – a chronic lung disease that causes breathing difficulties.

Sheena, who worked at a care home for OAPs, also began to suffer from hip pain and was diagnosed with a rare bone problem.

After three attempts at key hole surgery failed to take the pain away, she was given a full hip replacement in 2014.

But the operation failed to cure her pain and she was prescribed morphine – the strongest pain killer available – to manage it.

Her partner, Mr Hodgson, father to her youngest son, said she would often fall asleep without warning, while chewing food or smoking, causing him to constantly worry.

He would always try to stay awake when he was around her to make sure she was safe.

He revealed they had requested a second opinion about the hip surgery and had been told it it may have been done incorrectly.

They had been advised to approach a solicitor to discuss potential action against the hospital responsible for the first surgery – which wasn’t identified in the court proceedings.

But sadly, Sheena never got the corrective surgery she needed as doctors said her COPD symptoms made her too unwell to operate on.

Coroner's Court
Coroner's Court

A statement by her GP revealed she had also been on anti-depressants and sleeping pills for many years, but had never mentioned any thoughts of harming herself.

Mental health professionals said Sheena had failed to attend her appointments almost ten years ago and was discharged from the service in 2009.

Recording a ruling of death by misadventure due to an accidental overdose, the assistant coroner said there was no suggestion that Sheena had been taking more of her medication than she was supposed to.

She added: “There’s no evidence whatsoever that she intended to take an overdose or intended to take her own life.”