Couple found dead in Essex hotel swimming pool were celebrating her birthday
A couple who drowned in the swimming pool of a luxury hotel in Essex had been celebrating her 22nd birthday.
Down Hall hotel
Josephine Foday and Komba Kpakiwa, 31, were found dead in the indoor pool at
the four-star Down Hall Country House Hotel in Hatfield Heath on Saturday
evening.
An inquest into their deaths was opened at Chelmsford Coroners Court on
Tuesday.
It heard Miss Foday and Mr Kpakiwa were found at about 7.30pm. Other hotel
guests had seen them alive in swimming gear 15 minutes earlier.
Essex Police said a provisional post-mortem examination found their deaths
were consistent with drowning.
Eleanor McGann, deputy coroner for Essex, adjourned the inquest to a later
date pending further investigations.
Police are not treating their deaths as suspicious.
Miss Foday, a second year nursing student at Canterbury University, had moved to England from Sierra Leone in 2001 after both her parents disappeared, believed to have been killed during the country's civil war.
She lived in Plumstead, south east London, with her grandmother, Theresa Farma.
Miss Foday met Mr Kpakiwa, a married father of two, in February at her local Co-Op supermarket where he worked as a team manager while he was studying law.
"She was a lovely girl, happy and smiley," said Miss Farma.
"She was very quiet, she went to church and did not drink alcohol or smoke.
"She wanted to be a nurse. To help people."
Miss Farma, 61, said she had been looking forward to going away for her birthday.
"She called me on Friday to say that she had arrived at the hotel," she said.
"They were looking forward to spending time at the hotel. They were supposed to come back on Sunday but instead the police came.
"Everyone is upset, distraught. I can't believe she has gone."
Miss Foday and Mr Kpakiwa had been swimming alone and unsupervised in the hotel's 10m, indoor pool.
Abdul Conteh, a family friend of Miss Foday, said a witness had reported seeing the couple floating next to each other but thought they were "mucking about".
He raised the alarm a few minutes later when he noticed that Mr Kpakiwa's face had sunk below the water. Two members of staff then dived in to rescue them but they were declared dead at the scene.
Mr Conteh said: "According to an eye witness, he saw the couple in the pool, he went to the sauna and eight minutes later he he came out and saw Komba's face in the pool and Josephine was lying on his back going down the water.
"He thought they were mucking around, a couples' thing, he didn't take any notice of them. But then he came back again and he saw the two of them going down the water and saw the man's face was underneath the water, so he raised the alarm."
He added: "It is so sad, this family has been struck by tragedy three times. They have had so much to cope with.
"Josephine was such a nice young woman, the type of woman you would want as your own daughter. She was very loving and never in any trouble.
"She didn't smoke, she didn't drink, she was dedicated to her studies so that she could help other people."
Saz Aziz, a supervisor at the Co-Op where Mr Kpakiwa worked, said his wife called to break the news of his death.
He said: "He worked ten years in the company. I received a phone call on Sunday from his wife saying he is not here anymore, he had died.
"I think he had two children, a seven year-old boy and a four year-old girl.
"We are all very saddened by his death."
The tragedy unfolded as other guests were enjoying wedding receptions and birthday celebrations.
The hotel was also due to host a murder mystery night on Sunday but it was cancelled after the deaths.
The Down Hall Country House Hotel describes itself as "one of England's most established country house hotels" and is set in 110 acres of woods and parkland.
Double rooms cost about £149 a night, and the hotel was the venue for the wedding of Jade Goody, the reality television star, and Jack Tweed before her death from cancer in 2009.
Chris Falcus, manager of Down Hall, said: "We wish to reiterate our condolences to the friends and families of the lady and gentleman concerned.
"Both myself and the team at the hotel are deeply upset by what has happened.
"The results of the post-mortem examination have concluded that the deaths of the two people were consistent with drowning, which puts an end to inappropriate speculation about our facilities."
Miss Foday, a second year nursing student at Canterbury University, had moved to England from Sierra Leone in 2001 after both her parents disappeared, believed to have been killed during the country's civil war.
She lived in Plumstead, south east London, with her grandmother, Theresa Farma.
Miss Foday met Mr Kpakiwa, a married father of two, in February at her local Co-Op supermarket where he worked as a team manager while he was studying law.
"She was a lovely girl, happy and smiley," said Miss Farma.
"She was very quiet, she went to church and did not drink alcohol or smoke.
"She wanted to be a nurse. To help people."
Miss Farma, 61, said she had been looking forward to going away for her birthday.
"She called me on Friday to say that she had arrived at the hotel," she said.
"They were looking forward to spending time at the hotel. They were supposed to come back on Sunday but instead the police came.
"Everyone is upset, distraught. I can't believe she has gone."
Miss Foday and Mr Kpakiwa had been swimming alone and unsupervised in the hotel's 10m, indoor pool.
Abdul Conteh, a family friend of Miss Foday, said a witness had reported seeing the couple floating next to each other but thought they were "mucking about".
He raised the alarm a few minutes later when he noticed that Mr Kpakiwa's face had sunk below the water. Two members of staff then dived in to rescue them but they were declared dead at the scene.
Mr Conteh said: "According to an eye witness, he saw the couple in the pool, he went to the sauna and eight minutes later he he came out and saw Komba's face in the pool and Josephine was lying on his back going down the water.
"He thought they were mucking around, a couples' thing, he didn't take any notice of them. But then he came back again and he saw the two of them going down the water and saw the man's face was underneath the water, so he raised the alarm."
He added: "It is so sad, this family has been struck by tragedy three times. They have had so much to cope with.
"Josephine was such a nice young woman, the type of woman you would want as your own daughter. She was very loving and never in any trouble.
"She didn't smoke, she didn't drink, she was dedicated to her studies so that she could help other people."
Saz Aziz, a supervisor at the Co-Op where Mr Kpakiwa worked, said his wife called to break the news of his death.
He said: "He worked ten years in the company. I received a phone call on Sunday from his wife saying he is not here anymore, he had died.
"I think he had two children, a seven year-old boy and a four year-old girl.
"We are all very saddened by his death."
The tragedy unfolded as other guests were enjoying wedding receptions and birthday celebrations.
The hotel was also due to host a murder mystery night on Sunday but it was cancelled after the deaths.
The Down Hall Country House Hotel describes itself as "one of England's most established country house hotels" and is set in 110 acres of woods and parkland.
Double rooms cost about £149 a night, and the hotel was the venue for the wedding of Jade Goody, the reality television star, and Jack Tweed before her death from cancer in 2009.
Chris Falcus, manager of Down Hall, said: "We wish to reiterate our condolences to the friends and families of the lady and gentleman concerned.
"Both myself and the team at the hotel are deeply upset by what has happened.
"The results of the post-mortem examination have concluded that the deaths of the two people were consistent with drowning, which puts an end to inappropriate speculation about our facilities."
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