An Essex woman died suddenly after choking on food at her partner’s home, a court has heard.
Donna Bentham, 52, of The Chase in Chelmsford, was rushed to Queen’s Hospital after collapsing at a property in Romford.
“She was brought to Queen’s Hospital on the 13th of April 2025, having suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,” senior coroner Graeme Irvine told East London Coroner’s Court on Friday, May 9.
“The death was referred to this court by the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) that operates Queen’s Hospital.
“The doctor who made the death referral was unable to identify a clear cause of death and suggested that this was a case that was suitable for a post-mortem.”
When the post-mortem examination was performed, Mr Irvine said, a pathologist gave Miss Bentham’s cause of death as “asphyxiation by food bolus” and “obesity”.
“Asphyxiation by food bolus would be an unnatural cause of death,” the coroner said. “Given those circumstances, I will open an inquest.”
Inquests are public court hearings, held in the public interest, to investigate the causes of unnatural or unexplained deaths and whether future similar deaths might be avoidable.
Mr Irvine said Miss Bentham’s next of kin should be designated an “interested person” – a legal status entitling them to view evidence ahead of the final inquest and question any witnesses called to testify.
He asked her family to provide a background statement about “who the deceased was in life, the circumstances of the choking episode in Romford, the significant details that I need to understand about Miss Bentham’s health, and any concerns that they have regarding the death.”
He also ordered disclosure of Miss Bentham’s GP records, her hospital records and a statement from the consultant responsible for her treatment when she was rushed into Queen’s.
The final inquest was provisionally scheduled for October.
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