An American lawyer died after dozing off on her mother’s shoulder on a UK-bound Delta flight from Minnesota, according to reports.
Minnesota attorney Rachel Green, 44, was on the flight to London to conduct research for a novel she was writing when she fell asleep on her mother’s shoulder on April 30, 2025, and tragically “never woke up,” a West London Coroners Court heard this week, per The Sun.
Cabin crew attempted to wake Green and asked for a physician to help, but resuscitation attempts did not save her, the outlet reported.
Green had a cocktail of prescription drugs in her system, including several antidepressants, melatonin, cannabinoids and a low concentration of alcohol, officials revealed during the court hearing, the Daily Mail reported.
She was also found to have a preexisting heart condition, which likely caused her death in combination with the prescription drugs.
“This lady simply died whilst on a flight. She was coming to our country to do some research, staying for some time with her mother,” Senior Coroner Lydia Brown told the courtroom, according to The Sun.
“Instead, she did not even get off the plane without her mother and sister being bereaved. Poor Rachel never did [finish] that book. I wish it were different; it is not,” Brown said.
Pathologist Dr. Alan Bates also told the courtroom that Green’s heart was “normal” other than one of her coronary arteries that was covered in myocardial tunnelling, which is a common congenital heart condition where a segment of one’s coronary artery runs through heart muscle, instead of over its surface.
Green’s sister, Roxanne Carney, questioned the number of prescription drugs she was on and added that her sister had an “abnormal” heart test and was never referred to another doctor.
“I wonder why she was never referred to a cardiologist before being prescribed this combination,” Carney said, per the outlet.
“Why was she on this regimen? Why are they prescribing this combination of medications?”
In a final tribute during the hearing, Carney described her sister as an attorney who also specialized in insurance and had a love for history.
“On April 30th, 2025, we lost an angel on earth and gained one in heaven. My beloved sister and friend to so many, Rachel S. Green, passed away peacefully in her sleep as she was flying from Minneapolis to London for a much-anticipated trip to the UK,” she said.
“My sister was the absolutely most incredible and selfless person in this world.”
