A bizarre incident unfolded after Olive Martin, a 54-year-old woman, collapsed in the kitchen of her Darlington, Yorkshire home. According to UK outlets like The Metro, The Telegraph, and The Northern Echo, the incident occurred back on October 13, 2023. Martin was taken directly to Darlington Hospital Mortuary, as she was presumed to be dead. However, she was still alive at that time.
According to the Telegraph, on December 2, more details about the incident came to light as Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield informed Crook Coroners Court that the woman was still alive at that time. According to the Coroner, it wasn’t until “some time later” that she died from brain damage.
Tom Barclay Semple, the attorney of Olive Martin’s family, has blamed the hospital for not providing any treatment “at all” during the two hours she was still alive, as reported by The Telegraph. “What should that treatment have looked like? Her death could have been avoided or prolonged in some meaningful way,” the attorney argued in court.
‘Warrior’ mum, 54, who ‘died’ at home making toast woke up again in morgue https://t.co/yBvPxDbR06
— Metro (@MetroUK) December 2, 2025
According to Metro, the coroner claimed that he was not aware of how long the woman had been starved of oxygen on the day she collapsed on her kitchen floor after having a seizure. “We know that when Olive was found in her kitchen, she had put toast in her toaster,” replied her family’s attorney.
“That was the day when she was expected to go to work. If that was when she was having her seizure, we can extrapolate from that,” Barclay Semple added.
The North East Ambulance Service’s representative, James Donnelly, was also present at the court. He revealed that Olive Martin was “observed in the mortuary to have some signs of life,” as reported by The Telegraph. “What would have happened if she had been immediately brought to the emergency department?” he asked the court.
Woman declared dead at home after she collapsed making toast woke up alive in the mortuary, inquest hears https://t.co/I2O45tuZ2R
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) December 2, 2025
NEAS also issued a brief statement saying, “As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we contacted the patient’s family and launched a review into the circumstances.” As reported by PEOPLE, their statement added, “Our review of this incident will, of course, be shared with the coroner to determine what happened, and it would not be appropriate for us to comment further whilst that process is underway.”
Previously, Durham Constabulary confirmed that no criminal charges would be filed. The next court hearing on the matter is scheduled for January 30, 2026. “She was our warrior, and she will be deeply missed by every person she has ever met. We would request privacy at this difficult time,” Martin’s family said in a statement.
