DETAILS of how the night of a Hereford woman's death unfolded have been revealed in an inquest.
Charlotte Savage, known as Charlotte Holland, died in July 2022 after falling from a second-floor window. Police initially treated the death as an alleged murder, arresting a man, then later releasing him and calling off the investigation.
Now, coroner Mark Bricknell has found that she died of traumatic head, chest and spine injuries as a result of a fall from height — but he has not been able to confirm that the death was an accident.
While mystery still surrounds some of the events leading up to Miss Holland's death, the recent inquest has revealed much of what happened in the 12 hours before her body was found.
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Here is a full timeline of what happened on July 16 and 17, 2022, according to the coroner and witnesses.
All timings are approximate, as they are based on several varying witness statements.
Around 5.30pm
Miss Holland was picked up by a friend, Will Taylor, to go to a club in Worcester.
6.30pm
The pair arrived at Tramps in Worcester, where Mr Taylor was performing a DJ set. Miss Holland was behind the decks with him. They had a few drinks and Mr Taylor said he had a suspicion Miss Holland was using cocaine.
10.05pm
Miss Holland texted her mother and said: "I'm back in Hereford now, at Will's."
They went to the former cocktail bar Lupa for drinks, then to Pepe's to buy food.
Mr Taylor said they were "both drunk" and that Miss Holland couldn't remember the key code to her house, so he invited her to his home in Green Street.
He said they bought drugs on their way home.
Around midnight
They arrived at his Green Street address and spoke to the landlady, who went to bed shortly after and was not woken by noise in the night.
Around 3am
Mr Taylor went out to a party and left Miss Holland alone in his room.
Around 4am
Police said what happened after Mr Taylor got home is "unclear".
His own statement said that he got home to find Miss Holland gone, and noticed the window was open in his room. He looked down and saw her body outside.
He said he "had a panic attack" and went outside to check her pulse, but could not find one.
4.40am
The inquest heard that Mr Taylor called a friend and said: "I got back. She's dead. She jumped out the window. I don't know what to do."
Mr Taylor was described as "crying under his breath" and "in a state of serious shock".
He did not call emergency services.
According to police, he rushed out to deliver a sock to an address in Hereford which contained an "empty deal bag with traces of cocaine, MDMA and ketamine". The original contents of the sock cannot be substantiated, police said.
4.45am
The inquest heard that Mr Taylor went to his landlady's room and woke her up, saying: "It's my friend. She's in the garden."
Around 5am
The landlady went outside, saw Miss Holland's body and called 999.
5.05am
Paramedics arrived and found Miss Holland lying “almost in a ball”, unconscious and not breathing.
They tried CPR but her heart rhythm was a flat line.
5.30am
Miss Holland was pronounced dead.
Paramedics described Mr Taylor as "fidgety and pale". They said his legs were shaking and he appeared "vacant and in shock".
- More details from this inquest will be published exclusively on herefordtimes.com
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