MYSTERY surrounds the death of a 38-year-old mother-of-one found in her home with 150 injuries.

Deborah Atkin, of Scott's Terrace, in the North Road area of Darlington, is believed to have been assaulted in the final moments of her life.

But an inquest heard that medical examinations could not prove the assault was the cause of her death.

Two post-mortem examinations failed to establish how she died, and the inquest at Chester-le-Street yesterday recorded an open verdict.

Miss Atkin's body was discovered after her family broke into the house on Monday, February 12. They found her dead in a downstairs room.

They acted after she failed to contact her family, including her teenage daughter, Cherelle, for more than two days.

The last person known to have seen her alive was her mother, on Saturday, February 10, the day Miss Atkin is thought to have died.

Detectives discovered the house had been locked from the inside, with no sign of a break-in, leading them to believe the attacker was known to the victim.

At yesterday's hearing, Miss Atkin's father, John, questioned pathologist Dr William Lawler about the assault that preceded his daughter's death.

He asked if it could have contributed to her death, Dr Lawler said: "Probably, yes. But being able to say that beyond reasonable doubt is the difficult part. It is a fair comment, and one I cannot disagree with."

Dr Lawler described Miss Atkin as a "regular and heavy consumer of alcohol".

He said: "Despite my best endeavours, from my post-mortem examination and investigations at a later stage, there is nothing there that I can identify as a cause of death."

During their investigations, police took the unusual step of distributing flyers and posters appealing for information.

Despite the publicity, information was not forthcoming and Detective Superintendent Andy Reddick, of Darlington police, said his team had been left frustrated by the case.

Det Supt Reddick said: "As we heard from the pathologist, we felt Deborah Atkin was assaulted before her death.

"We cannot find anybody responsible for the assault.

"We have carried out every line of inquiry, but we remain hopeful.

"If anybody has any information that may assist us, we would urge them to come forward. It is an unusual case."

Coroner Andrew Tweddle said: "I cannot be sure with any degree of certainty as to what actually happened.

"We have clear evidence from the pathologist that if one or two or more of the injuries were accidental, the vast majority could not have been.

"Those injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, but a tired, frail body might not have been able to sustain this type of assault, where somebody in better health might have been.