A mum who suffered from epilepsy and diabetes since she was a child, died in the night when her heart suddenly stopped beating.

Katie Ellis-Leagas 31, was found by a concerned friend who broke into her flat. The mum-of-one to an 11-year-old daughter was pronounced dead at her home in Abery Drive, Larkfield after police arrived on the morning of Saturday, January 26.

Her father, Malcolm Ellis-Leagas, who attended the inquest at Archbishop’s Palace in Mill Street, Maidstone, said Katie spent several weeks in Maidstone Hospital in 2017 after losing weight due to not managing her diabetes properly.

However, after leaving hospital and spending a year with her dad she gained weight, her mental health improved, and she moved into her flat.

A letter from her GP read to the court revealed she had been suffering from depression, plus epilepsy and diabetes but followed treatment well for the last year.

“She was proud as punch,” said her father. “Life could not have been better, she was in the best place mentally - she was living life and loving it.”

A post mortem report said the cause of death was “sudden adult cardiac death.”

“Life could not have been better, she was in the best place mentally - she was living life and loving it...” Malcolm Ellis-Leagas

Contributing factors were diabetes and a low level of alcohol in her body. Epilepsy was listed as an underlying condition not directly linked.

Coroner Katrina Hepburn made a narrative conclusion based on these factors.

The inquest revealed Katie’s mother died suddenly several years previously after suffering a seizure in the night.

Ms Hepburn recommended to Mr Ellis-Leagas that he and other family members tried to find out if they too had a genetic risk to syndromes associated with sudden death.

Friends took to social media to express their grief at their tragic loss.

“You had a heart of gold, shine bright,” said one.

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