THE family of a Ledbury mum who died after taking cocaine have said they believe she was "groomed to sell drugs to get out of debt".
Molly Louise Clark suffered from "emotional difficulties" and was introduced to recreational drugs by a man who brought illegal substances to her hometown of Ledbury from Birmingham, an inquest heard. The man was not named at the inquest, held at Hereford Town Hall on April 26.
In a statement, Miss Clark's grandmother said: "She wasn't an angel but she wasn't a flat-out drug dealer. I believe she was groomed to sell drugs to get out of debt. A man brought drugs to her house from Birmingham. He trashed Molly's house and one of his dogs bit her daughter."
The statement was read out by coroner Mark Bricknell at the inquest.
Miss Clark, who lived in Ledbury, was just 22 when she died from a cocaine overdose, leaving behind two young daughters.
Following Miss Clark's death, an inquest was opened to establish her cause of death.
Coroner Bricknell ruled that Miss Clark's death was drug-related, and that she had suffered multi-organ failure caused by cocaine use.
He confirmed that there was no third-party involvement in her death.
She was found having a seizure at her home by a neighbour on October 21 last year, and an air ambulance was called to take her to hospital. She was given CPR as she was found to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
When she was in hospital, she tested positive for cocaine, cannabis and ketamine.
She was treated in the intensive care unit, but did not show signs of improvement, and died on October 24.
Her family have also raised concerns about her mental health care, with Miss Clark's grandmother saying in her statement: "We as a family feel let down as when Molly rang for help, she was told to have a bath and a cup of tea."
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She explained that Miss Clark had split from the father of her children before the youngest was born and that she had aspirations to become a midwife.
But she struggled with "emotional difficulties", and "struggled to manage her emotions", the coroner said. She was in the care of mental health services in 2022 and 2023 but missed four out of six appointments and said she did not find therapy sessions helpful.
The coroner said there was no indication that Miss Clark intended to take her own life and that it would be inappropriate for him to consider suicide as a cause of death.
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