Who was Jeni Larmour ?

Jeni Larmour, 18, from Newtonhamilton, Northern Ireland, died hours after arriving at Newcastle University on October 3, 2020.

She took a lethal combination of alcohol and ketamine, a tranquilizer that she sniffed with her new flatmate Kavir Kalliecharan and was found dead in her bedroom, the Newcastle Coroner’s Court has heard.

Killed

Mr. Kalliecharan, 20, previously told the inquest how Ms. Larmour, an A* student and classical singer, provided the ketamine which, along with a significant amount of alcohol, killed her.

Newcastle Coroner Karen Dilks ruled today that the ketamine was supplied to Ms Larmour by ‘another’.

Mrs Dilks recorded a verdict of misadventure, saying that Mrs Larmour’s death had been the result of “unintentional acts and events”.

A Snapchat video taken moments before high-achieving student Ms Larmour took the fatal dose of ketamine showed that she was not coerced into taking the drug, the inquest heard.

Model student Jeni Larmour, 18, died in her dorms just hours after she was dropped off for her first night at university in Newcastle in October 2020.

Kavir Kalliecharan was not charged with supplying the ketamine and told police that it was owned by Ms Larmour.Larmour had filmed the images of her on her mobile phone which were not shown in open court but which witnesses saw, showing her in Mr. Kalliecharan’s room with a white powder on a table.

Andrew Metcalfe, then an Acting Detective Sergeant with Northumbria Police, confirmed that the video showed there was no evidence that Ms Larmour or Mr Kalliecharan coerced or pressured the other into taking drugs.

Mrs. Dilks said: ‘Between 5 p.m. m. and 7 p.m. m. approximately, Jeni along with her fellow students consumed alcohol.

‘Later that night, while her judgment was affected by alcohol, she took a quantity of kemaine which was provided by another.

‘Whose combined effects led to her death.’

In evidence Tuesday, Kalliecharan claimed the drug made him sick and he vomited for hours before falling asleep, and he woke up to find Larmour lifeless, lying face down on the floor of his bedroom around 5 a.m.

Investigation

Police investigating Larmour’s death found scales, a pack of zip lock bags, a vaporizer, a cannabis grinder and three types of drugs in Mr. Kalliecharan’s room.

Specialized search officers using police dogs searched the apartment in the hallways of Park View and found ketamine, cannabis and MDMA in his bedroom, but he said the ketamine was not his.

Kalliecharan, from Leeds, was not charged with supplying ketamine and told police it was from Larmour.

Larmour had arrived at the university the previous afternoon, dropped off by her mother Sandra, who had taken her shopping before saying goodbye to her.

In the early hours of the next morning, Mrs. Larmour, her husband, David, and her son, Daniel, received the horrific news that Jeni had died of an alleged drug overdose.

Mr. Kalliecharan was arrested and led off the block in handcuffs as the only person with her when he died.

Two roommates told police that he told them: ‘I killed her, it’s my fault, what was I thinking?’ and ‘I feel like it’s my fault, I gave him too much.’

However, in the police interview, he maintained that Ms. Larmour had produced the ketamine and used her driver’s license to cut lines on a coffee table.

Snapchat video of the incident, recorded by Larmour, shows Kalliecharan moving the drugs around with a blade and telling him, “I’m going to show you how we do it in England.”

As evidence, he told the inquest that he had been referring to his college experience rather than drugs.

She said the university had a mandatory online induction program with information on drinks and drugs for new students.

But the message didn’t come easily, she admitted, and following the tragedy of Ms Larmour’s death there was a backlash when the Vice Chancellor emailed students a ‘harsh’ warning about the risks of drinking and the drugs.

Ms Backhurst said: “We get a lot of bribes from students (saying) ‘Who do you think you’re telling us what to do?’

She added: ‘It’s a balance. Students need to be aware of the risks, the dangers and the signs, and we’ve done a lot before 2020 and beyond to try to raise awareness.’

Ms Larmour obtained 10 GCSEs, four A*A levels and was an accomplished classical singer and actress.

She completed a British sailing race, did charity work and was an honorary sergeant in the combined force of cadets.

Upon her death, her parents received a letter of condolence from Lord Dannatt, former Commander-in-Chief of the British Land Forces, who was the figurehead behind the big ship challenge.

During the hearing, Jeni’s mother paid her tribute through tears.

She said: ‘She had an action-packed life, but she was an unassuming girl of many talents that she took in stride.

“Her death of hers has left a great void that will never be filled and was a huge and incalculable loss for me, her father David, her brother Daniel and her entire family.

“I think it was also a huge loss for Newcastle University and the world of planning and architecture that she would have joined.”