A NEW student who was among four young people to die in the Newcastle area over a weekend, causing police to issue a drugs warning, had no illicit substances in her body and died from natural causes, an inquest has found.

Stephanie Sillifant, 18, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, was found dead in her flat at Newcastle University on October 4, two days after she had arrived in the city to study medicine.

An inquest in Newcastle heard she had diabetes and epilepsy, for which she was taking medication and which she was monitoring, and she died from either of the pre-existing conditions or a combination of the two.

Ms Sillifant’s death came during a 48-hour period during which students Jeni Larmour, 18, from County Armagh, Nathaniel Pavlovic, 21, from Halifax, and Mark Johnston, 18, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, also died.

It led Northumbria Police to issue a warning about ketamine and MDMA, and officers made a series of arrests.

But Newcastle coroner Karen Dilks said there was no suggestion of Ms Sillifant taking any illicit drugs.

The coroner said: “It is very important that it be clear that this was a young girl who tragically died because of pre-existing medical conditions.”

She recorded a conclusion that the medical student died from natural causes.

Earlier, Home Office pathologist Dr Nigel Cooper said toxicology tests found no trace of illicit drugs and showed a very low alcohol level in her urine.

This would not have been enough to make her intoxicated, and could even have occurred in her body after she died, he said.

The tests showed she had taken medication for her epilepsy and was monitoring her blood sugar levels.

Detective Constable Lucy Joyce, part of the Northumbria Police team investigating the four sudden deaths, said they had spoken to students at her shared Park View accommodation, and she had mentioned she had not taken anything and was anti-drugs.

The detective told the hearing: “There was nothing to suggest anybody else had entered the flat.

“It was the coronavirus lockdown at the time, the students had not been going into Newcastle, they had just been drinking in the flats.”

The coroner concluded: “She didn’t consume any substance at all that was in any way causative of the tragic events that happened.”

The coroner passed on her condolences to Ms Sillifant’s mother Nicola, who followed the proceedings by videolink.