New mom dies after doing cocaine on first night out after birth of baby
A new mom died after taking cocaine on her first night out following the birth of her baby, a UK court has heard.
Becky Tollan, 23, died at a house in Lanarkshire, Scotland, July 15, 2019, after partying with her sister-in-law and two men they met at a local pub.
The men — Barry McAuley, 40, and Martin Stewart, 34 — have been charged with culpable homicide after allegedly providing Tollan with the Class A drug.
The duo’s trial began Wednesday, with Tollan’s sister-in-law, Pamela Tollan, taking the stand to recall the brunette’s tragic death.
“Becky started shaking,” Pamela emotionally told the court, according to the Mirror. “I just thought she was cold to start with. I was saying: ‘What is happening to her?’ I was shouting: ‘Becky! Becky!’ “
Pamela explained that she and Tollan went out to a bar on the evening of July 14, with the new mom excited for her first social event since giving birth to a baby boy just weeks earlier.
The pair were sitting alone at a table when two drinks arrived, allegedly ordered for them by McAuley and Stewart.
The women subsequently went over to talk to the two men and soon began drinking with them. Pamela told the court that Tollan then asked the men if they had any “stuff.”
“I knew exactly what she meant … asking if they had any cocaine,” the devastated sister-in-law stated.
One of the men allegedly produced a “wee bag” of the drug before Tollan disappeared to the bathroom to purportedly ingest it. The group later moved to a house in the area, where the new mom allegedly consumed more cocaine.
“Becky was her own person. No matter how much you told her, she would not listen,” Pamela declared. “I did tell her: ‘You do not need it … you are having a good time’. I told her to stop because you do not need it.”
After spending time at the home, Pamela and Tollan were getting ready to leave when the new mom suddenly began to start shaking and fitting.
Stewart — one of the men accused of providing the cocaine — purportedly asked Pamela if Tollan had “epilepsy.”
“I said no. He put her in the recovery position,” Pamela recalled, claiming that Tollan was “constantly” fitting and was bleeding from the mouth after biting her own tongue.
Emergency crews were called to the home but were unable to save the new mom who was declared dead on July 15.
Pamela told the court that her sister-in-law had abstained from drugs and alcohol during her pregnancy and that her body may have been overwhelmed on her first night out after giving birth.
McAuley and Stewart have both pled not guilty to the culpable homicide charge. The trial continues.
