Mystery will continue to surround the death of a 40-year-old woman who died following a 10-hour flight from South Africa.

Rachel Worters was unexpectedly found dead at her Whitstable home two years ago, with no signs of infection or illness.

Her ex-partner, Peter Lindsay, was the last person to see her alive back in November 2018 after driving her home to Eversleigh Rise from the airport.

He later found her dead and raised the alarm but police have since been unable to trace him.

Mr Lindsay also failed to respond to a court summons to give evidence as a witness at Miss Worters’ inquest.

Officers, however, have not explored any criminal investigations regarding the death and it has not been deemed suspicious.

The pair were separated at the time, but were still on good terms with each other.

Having dropped her home from the airport, Mr Lindsay later returned to Miss Worters’ house but was unable to get inside as the front door was locked. He then went to Tesco to buy a bottle of vodka and slept in his car before trying the front door again in the morning.

Still unable to gain access, a locksmith was called and the door was eventually opened - only for Miss Worters to be found dead in her bedroom.

Police were called and Mr Lindsay spoke with an officer and detailed what happened while giving the false surname of ‘Taylor’.

At the inquest on Monday at Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone, assistant coroner Sonia Hayes gave an open verdict and classed the death ‘unascertained’.

She did consider the possibility of a sudden adult death following a suggestion from a pathologist - but there was no conclusive evidence from the post-mortem.

Ms Hayes said: “It is possible there is a cardiac component to Rachel’s death but there is not sufficient evidence.

"There is no evidence that this death was suspicious. I have nothing on post-mortem, nothing on toxicology and nothing on the circumstances surrounding Rachel to make me concerned about her.

"She went to bed on her own accord and suffered what is most likely a medical event that very tragically led to her untimely death.”

Her family's fears over the after-effects of long flights to and from South Africa were considered but there was an absence of evidence for the coroner to be satisfied.

During the journey home from the airport, Miss Worters is said to have complained of a pressure-related headache and was asleep for most of the drive. The headache was however thought to be caused by her sinuses.

Described as a “quiet and exceptionally good neighbour”, Miss Worters was born in Inverness and was a project manager.

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