High-flying student died after taking ketamine given to her by another on her first night of university, inquest rules
12 October 2022, 16:40
A high-achieving student died on her first night of university after taking ketamine given to her "by another", a coroner has concluded.
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Jeni Larmour, 18, from Newtonhamilton in Northern Ireland, died after taking a "lethal" combination of ketamine and alcohol on her first evening after arriving at Newcastle University in October 2020.
Former deputy head girl Ms Larmour took the tranquiliser with new flatmate Kavir Kalliecharan, Newcastle coroner's court heard. She started drinking earlier that evening between 5pm and 7pm.
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Coroner Karen Dilks said: "Later that evening, while her judgement was impaired due to alcohol, Jeni took a quantity of ketamine provided for her by another, the combined effects of which led to her death."
It comes after coroner Ms Dilks concluded earlier in the inquest that Ms Larmour's death was due to misadventure - unintentional acts and events.
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Mr Kalliecharan said that he did not provide the ketamine and that it was Ms Larmour's. He was not charged with supplying the ketamine, although police sniffer dogs found ketamine, cannabis and MDMA in Mr Kalliecharan's room.
No drugs were found in anyone else's room in the flat.
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Ms Larmour filmed a video on her phone, showing her in Mr Kallacharan's bedroom with white powder on the table.
Speaking at the inquest on Tuesday, Mr Kalliecharan said taking the drug made him sick, and that he vomited for hours before falling asleep.
He woke to find Ms Larmour lying face down on his bedroom floor at about 5am.
Mr Kalliecharan told Ms Larmour before they took the ketamine: "This is how we do it in England."
He told the coroner he was referring to the university experience in England, and had never taken ketamine before.
Immediately after Ms Larmour's death, Mr Kalliecharan told flatmates he felt it was his "fault", explaining at the inquest he felt "guilt" not in a criminal sense but through "moral responsibility".
Lucy Backhurst, the university's academic registrar and director of student services, addressed Ms Larmour's parents David and Sandra.
She said: "Jeni was just the sort of bright, able student we want studying with us at Newcastle University."
Ms Backhurst said Ms Larmours' course, urban planning and architecture, was hard to get on to and "not for the faint-hearted".
She said the university had a compulsory online induction programme with information about drink and drugs.
But the messaging was not easy, she admitted, and after Ms Larmour's death there was a backlash when the vice-chancellor emailed students a "stark" warning about the risks of drink and drugs.
Ms Backhurst said: "We got an awful lot of kickback from students (saying), 'Who do you think you are, telling us what to do'?"
She added: "It's a balance. Students need to be aware of the risks, dangers and signs and we have done an awful lot before 2020 and subsequently to try to raise awareness."
The Royal School in County Armagh posted a message in tribute to their former deputy head girl after her death in 2020.
The post said: "It is with a profound sense of sadness and loss that the school community has learned of the sudden death of former Deputy Head Girl, Jeni Larmour.
"Jeni came to the Royal School in Year 8 and in the years that followed was a model pupil, exemplifying many of the values which this school seeks to promote."
"Her outstanding qualities as a pupil were recognised in her final year when she was appointed Deputy Head Girl, a role she carried out to a very high standard.
"It was Jeni’s ambition to attend the Royal School and she wasted none of the opportunities offered to her here."
