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Teenage girl collapses and dies after first kiss
A teenager girl collapsed and died from sudden adult death syndrome (SADS) minutes after she was kissed for the first time, an inquest has heard.
Jemma Benjamin, 18, was kissed by fellow university student Daniel Ross, 21, at his home after a night out together.
But Miss Benjamin suddenly slumped onto the sofa - and died in front of Mr Ross's eyes.
The inquest heard Jemma died from SADS, a rare heart condition which kills 500 people in Britain each year.
Mr Ross, who had known Miss Benjamin for three months, tried desperately to save her before paramedics arrived on the scene.
But the inquest heard nothing could have be done for Miss Benjamin, who was described as a "picture of health".
Mr Ross told police that he and Miss Benjamin had been friends for three months - but that was the first time they had kissed.
He said: "It was not a sexual relationship but we saw each other a couple of times a week.
"We were going to go to a bar for some food and went back to my house for a credit card which I had forgotten.
"We were talking and ended up kissing in the hallway by the front door.
"We went into the kitchen and then the living room and Jemma sat down on the sofa."
Mr Ross said that Miss Benjamin's eyelids "suddenly began to droop" and her mouth started to froth before she collapsed at his student flat in Treforest, Pontypridd, South Wales.
He said: "I rang her mother to see if she had epilepsy. She fell in and out of consciousness."
He rang 999 and was given CPR instructions on the phone by a Welsh Ambulance Service control operator but he was unable to revive her.
Det Con Richie Andrews, who interviewed Mr Ross, told the inquest: "Jemma and Daniel started chatting and ended up kissing each other - it was possible that it was the first time they had kissed."
Miss Benjamin's father told the hearing that he thought his daughter and Mr Ross were "just friends".
He said: "Jemma was very shy and timid."
The hearing was told Miss Benjamin was athletic and sporty but was "stressed" about forthcoming exams in sports science.
Her mother Charlotte Garwood said Miss Benjamin - a long distance swimmer and hockey player - was "a picture of health one minute and taken away from me the next".
She said: "I am not able to put into words how much I miss her."
Mr Ross has since finished his studies at the University of Glamorgan in Pontypridd, South Wales, and returned to his home city of Birmingham.
A post mortem examination by pathologist Dr Jason Shannon could find no medical reason for her death in April 2009.
The hearing was told she had no history of cardiac problems.
Glamorgan coroner Peter Maddox recorded a narrative verdict at the inquest in Aberdare.
After the hearing, builder Mr Benjamin, 38, of Llantwit Fardre, South Wales, said: "We were shocked and devastated that such a fit girl as Jemma should have died."
He said he was setting up an appeal to raise £5,000 for a heart screening programme for young people in the area through the charityCRY - Cardiac Risk In The Young.
