boxing day 2012: Billionaire Tetra Pak heir's wife Eva Rausing died from drugs dependency, coroner rules

Friday, December 14, 2012

Billionaire Tetra Pak heir's wife Eva Rausing died from drugs dependency, coroner rules

48-year-old's body discovered in fly-filled room in west London home

Post-mortem examination showed she had drugs in her system

Husband Hans told court how he 'could not cope' with his wife's death

Billionaire heir admitted preventing lawful and decent burial of his wife

By Anna Edwards

PUBLISHED: 06:50 EST, 14 December 2012 | UPDATED: 06:58 EST, 14 December 2012

Eva Rausing died as a result of the dependant abuse of drugs

Eva Rausing's body lay undiscovered for two months before she was found, because her billionaire husband 'could not cope' with her death.

The 48-year-old died in front of her husband, multi-millionaire Hans Kristian Rausing, who then failed to report her death and kept her body in their home.

Mrs Rausing, who was found by police in July at the west London property, died as a result of the dependant abuse of drugs, a coroner ruled today.

She was discovered in a fly-filled room hidden under a pile of bedding and bin bags which had been taped together, with a foil pipe in her hand, Westminster Coroner's Court heard.

Police discovered the mother's body in an advanced state of decomposition after they arrested her husband on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs on July 9.

Mrs Rausing had a pacemaker fitted in 2006 after cocaine abuse damaged her heart and it was only this that could pin point when she had passed away.

In a statement read to Westminster Coroners Court today Rausing, who was too ill to attend, recalled the morning his wife died.

He said: 'I remember waking up in the morning, I got up to go to the bathroom I was shaving and I think I heard Eva slide off of the bed.

'I went into the bedroom and saw her sitting on some pillows on the floor, she was leaning sideways and her head face was resting on a pillow.

'I heard her exhale and then she did not move at all. I saw her alive for a few seconds.

Hans Rausing could not cope with the death of his wife Eva, and her body was discovered two months after she died at their home

Eva Rausing

Hans Rausing could not cope with the death of his wife Eva, and her body was discovered two months after she died at their home

'I went to her and grabbed her hands and tried to pull her up. I remember shouting "Eva, Eva, Eva."

'I turned her toward me and I saw that her eyes had dimmed. She stopped breathing before I reached her.

'I knew she was dead, I was absolutely certain she was dead.

'I sat with her for a period of time then covered her up with a blanket and duvet.

'I could not look at her, I could not cope with her dying and do not feel able to cope with the reality of her death. With the benefit of hindsight I think I did not act rationally.'

He said he had 'no recollection' of what happened next and believes he suffered a break down.

Mr Rausing was given two suspended sentences in August after he admitted preventing the lawful and decent burial of his wife's body.

A post-mortem examination established that she died on May 7 and had drugs in her system, including cocaine.

Hans Rausing said he watched his wife Eva die, but cannot remember what happened afterwards, and believes he suffered a breakdown

Hans Kristian and Eva Rausing, pictured on their wedding day, spent their last years as co-dependant recluses

The couple had fought a public battle against addiction to drugs.

In 2008 police launched an investigation after Mrs Rausing was caught with drugs as she tried to enter the US Embassy in London for a function.

Subsequent searches of her car and the couple's £5 million Georgian townhouse uncovered massive quantities of class A drugs.

Mr and Mrs Rausing faced drug charges but were given conditional cautions instead, meaning the hearings did not go ahead.

Mr Rausing's parents and siblings said then they were supporting the pair as they fought to overcome drug addiction.

Rausing, 49, revealed that they had spiralled back into drug habits after breaking a period of total abstinence by celebrating the Millennium with a glass of champagne.

They spent their last years as co-dependant recluses too ashamed to face the world, he admitted, and later told psychiatrists: 'I know it is sad and selfish, but I just didn't want her to leave.'

The inquest into Mrs Rausing's death took place at Westminster Coroner's Court in London.

She was buried at a Jewish cemetery on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina in August.

Her parents Tom and Nancy Kemeny and sister Be were believed to have been the only mourners at the burial as her husband was understood not to have attended the service.

Deputy coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said Mrs Rausing died as a result of cocaine intoxication contributed to by a heart condition - tricuspid valve disease.

Delivering her verdict, she said: 'Mrs Rausing's death was as a result of the dependant abuse of drugs.'