According to a report from the BBC, Lesley Cubbon, 73, who lived in the parish of Onchan, located on the self-governing British crown dependency Isle of Man, died on August 11, 2020 after she called police three times in the span of 15 minutes to complain about local youth attacking her and her home with pears. The coroner’s inquest on this case was just completed this month.
The BBC reported Coroner Jayne Hughes said the “stress and frustration” from the alleged attack “contributed significantly” to her death. She added that while she believed the youth’s behavior was “selfish and thoughtless,” she felt there was no harmful or malicious intent.
According to reports, on the night of her death, Cubbon told the emergency dispatch that she was “fed-up” and “sick of it” and would “have a damn heart attack before this lot’s over.”
According to the BBC, police said Cubbon had “desperation and frustration in her voice” when she called them the evening of her death. Police said she called a total of three separate times in a span of less than 20 minutes.
The BBC report said on the night of Cubbon’s death, a group of about 10 children allegedly stole pears from a tree next door to Cubbon’s home and started throwing them at her house. As they were throwing the pears onto her property, the report said, the children allegedly verbally abused Cubbon’s husband.
Authorities arrived at the scene shortly after Cubbon’s third call and spoke to the group of children believed to be involved with the incident. However, police said all of the children denied being involved.
According to reports, approximately 30 minutes after her last call to police, Cubbon’s husband found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor. Paramedics arrived shortly after and pronounced her dead on the scene.
The coroner ruled that Cubbon had died from myocardial ischaemia. Myocardial ischaemia, otherwise known as cardiac ischemia, occurs when blood flow to the heart is decreased due to a blockage. According to the Mayo Clinic, myocardial ischaemia can lead to a heart attack if left untreated.
According to the BBC, Cubbon’s neighborhood had reportedly been troubled by local youth for “some years.”
Neighbors reported the trouble in the neighborhood escalated after the area eased its COVID-19 lockdown protocol back in May.
