Murdered backpacker's sister's death a 'double tragedy'

Laura Daniels was nine weeks' pregnant when she died, five years after her sister was murdered in Thailand

The sister of murdered British backpacker Hannah Witheridge died while pregnant in a "double tragedy" , an inquest has heard.

The family of Laura Daniels, 30, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was told "no-one knows" what caused her death.

She died at Southampton General Hospital in September 2019 - five years after her sister was found dead in Thailand.

Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp recorded an open conclusion.

A post-mortem examination was unable to find a cause of death for Mrs Daniels, a paediatric nurse.

Ms Rhodes-Kemp said at the hearing in Winchester, Hampshire, that her death while nine weeks' pregnant was a "double tragedy".

"Given the post-mortem findings, it is very difficult indeed to come to any conclusion other than open and that is because no-one knows quite why Laura died when she did," she said.

"No-one knows, and that must be one of the hardest things for families and friends - for a young person to die and for despite all the investigation, all the inquest process we end up simply not knowing."

The inquest, which began last month, heard Mrs Daniels had the rare condition trigeminal neuralgia, which causes facial pain, and underwent numerous surgeries and treatments at various hospitals.

She was found unresponsive in hospital shortly after speaking to staff and pronounced dead on 16 September 2019 - five years and a day after her sister's death in Thailand.

'Spearheaded fight'

In an inquest statement, her widower Lewis Daniels said: "Laura was an incredible young lady who had so much desire to continue making the most of her life whilst having to deal with adversity very few people across the world will ever have to experience."

He described the impact the murder of Miss Witheridge had on the family, and how Mrs Daniels "spearheaded the fight for justice for her sister".

"Life was never going to be easy or the same again; we shared difficult times but we found happiness together," he said.

Hannah Witheridge and David Miller's bodies were found on a beach in Koh Tao in September 2014

The bodies of Miss Witheridge, of Hemsby, near Great Yarmouth, and David Miller, from Jersey, were found in Thailand in 2014.

They had met at the hotel where they were staying.

Two Burmese migrants who were convicted over the killings had their death sentences reduced to life imprisonment in 2020.