Mum’s plea as daughter dies from drug cocktail she thought was coke in Thailand

A heartbroken mother has pleaded with Brits to resist the advances of persistent drug dealers while on holiday, following the tragic death of her daughter due to a lethal cocktail of drugs.

Anita Turner, 64, is devastated by the loss of her 36-year-old daughter Rebecca, who died after consuming what she believed was cocaine in Thailand with her boyfriend Sam Melnick.

The couple were discovered dead in their Bangkok hotel room. It’s suspected that they had unknowingly consumed a mix of nine different drugs.

Anita, from Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, is now calling for more action to tackle the harassment of tourists by drug dealers in popular tourist destinations like Bangkok.

 Anita implored: “Please, whatever you do, please don’t take something. It’s really not worth the risk. This is happening so much. There is a massive drug problem out there and you just don’t know what you’re getting or how strong it is; you need to be really careful.”

The retired delivery driver mum is urging young people to stand firm against the temptation of drugs while on holiday.

Rebecca had been in Thailand for several months when she passed away on March 15 – she was due to return home on April 16. Inquests into the deaths of Rebecca and Sam, a self-employed gas-engineer and plumber, are set to continue in January.

Anita, struggling to hold back her tears, shared: “My heart is just broken in two – I can’t believe I’ll never see her again. Every morning I wake up and see a picture of her and just cry and cry.

It’s killing me. The pain of losing a child is indescribable. You can’t imagine such pain until it happens to you.

“People are always coming up to you offering you drugs. It’s all over the place. I know before this she had bought weed out there but said what she had been given was definitely not weed.”

Anita highlighted the perilous nature of the area: “That road is particularly bad – a boy died of the same thing just a day before. And the police station is right on the corner. So many people are dying and people need to know about this.”

Rebecca had messaged a friend on March 15 to say she’d purchased cocaine, but tragically, both she and Sam were found dead hours later.

Anita disclosed that officials informed her that nine different drugs were found in her daughter’s system, including opiates, morphine, codeine, noscapine, benzodiazepine, tamazopam, noriazepines, diazepam, and mono acetylmirohine.

The couple was due to check out of their hotel on the day their bodies were discovered by friends who were concerned after not hearing from them.

Sam was found lifeless in bed, while Rebecca was found on the floor, presumably attempting to reach the bathroom, according to her mother.

Anita received an autopsy report from Thailand but lamented that parts of it were redacted. She expressed frustration with the Thai authorities, saying: “The Thai authorities were useless and unhelpful. They said I could have all her stuff back in three months but it took over six.”

“I’m sure they blacked out the bits where it said what drugs were in her body. They don’t want people to know how bad the problem is out there.”

Bec’s travel insurance covered the cost of repatriating her remains in time for a funeral on May 10. She was honoured with a Buddhist memorial in September, and funds were raised for a Thai school she had volunteered at.

Anite remarked: “Bec is just so, so beautiful. She loved to help others. This is such a trauma: so painful and so shocking. I just want to tap people on the shoulders and tell them: just please don’t take anything.”