The mother of murder victim Drew Shepherd turned to drink to escape the loss of her son and eventually died as a result, an inquest heard.

Christine Shepherd, 54, from Goudhurst Road, Twydall, Gillingham, died in June this year when she fell and hit her head after drinking heavily.

The inquest into her death, held at County Hall, Maidstone, on Friday took place just days after murderer Lee Bullen was handed a life sentence for killing her son in 2006. Her husband Robin Shepherd told the inquest how she had used alcohol to numb the pain of losing their son and regularly drank until she fell unconscious.

He said: “It was my life for two-and-a-half years, coming home from work and finding she had been drinking.

“It was a normal occurrence to find her lying around unconscious. She had some horrendous falls and had terrible injuries because of it.

“The day my son was murdered was the day Christine left us.”

The fall that killed Mrs Shepherd happened three days before her death. Mr Shepherd and his son Luke had returned home to find she had been drinking and was lying unconscious in the hallway.

They moved her on to a settee and placed a blanket over her as they usually did after she had been drinking.

Later, when her son Luke checked on her, he realised something was wrong and called an ambulance. She was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital where she was found to have fractured the base of her skull.

A CT scan also showed there had been a bleed on the brain. She later died from her injuries.

Recording a verdict of accidental death Mid Kent and Medway coroner Roger Sykes said: “She died from head injuries caused by a fall due to intoxication.

“Her death was nothing but a most tragic accident.

“It stems principally from the loss of her son, after which she turned to the oblivion that drinking too much can bring.

“I can only offer my inadequate condolences.”