Rugby player, 22, mysteriously drowned after slapping man during boozy night out with pals, inquest hears
A YOUNG rugby player mysteriously drowned in a river after a boozy night out with friends, an inquest heard. Brooke Morris had visited a nightclub in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales in 2019 and failed to return home after slapping a man for making comments about her eyebrows. On Tuesday, the inquest heard the 22-year-old was […]
A YOUNG rugby player mysteriously drowned in a river after a boozy night out with friends, an inquest heard.
Brooke Morris had visited a nightclub in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales in 2019 and failed to return home after slapping a man for making comments about her eyebrows.
On Tuesday, the inquest heard the 22-year-old was reported missing following a night out drinking with friends on Friday, October 11, 2019.
After an incident, which involved Brooke slapping a man for making a comment about her eyebrows, she was taken back to her family home in Trelewis but never went inside.
She was dropped off at around 2.30am but instead of going inside, she climbed over a gate towards the river.
A huge search was mounted for “party girl” Brooke – with her friends and family describing her disappearance as “out of character”.
Brooke’s body was found in the River Taff near Abercynon five days later.
A post mortem examination found her medical cause of death was drowning.
Toxicology tests showed she had drank a “significant amount of alcohol” and was three times the drink-drive limit at the time of her death.
Friend Jemma Griffiths, who went out for drinks with Brooke that night told the inquest: “She’s not the argumentative type, she’s not like that.
“I don’t think she meant to slap him. I think it was just a drunken reaction. I said to her, ‘You’re just acting silly.'”
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The hearing was told Brooke had “a lot to live for” and her parents had no concerns over her mental health.
In a statement, her father Gary said: “With Brooke, she was more of a party girl. Her perfect job would have been in Ibiza.”
Giving a narrative conclusion, coroner Rachel Knight said: “Likely due to the level of alcohol she had consumed, Brooke’s behaviour was out of character and she had slapped a man who had made a comment about her eyebrows.
“She did not go back into her house but walked to its rear and climbed a gate leading to one of the tributaries of the River Taff.
“Brooke’s intention in going to the bridge and entering the water could not be ascertained.”
She told Brooke’s family: “She had a lot to live for and her death really is a tragedy.”
