Moment 'coward' sobs to police after leaving friend dying in his bed

This is the moment a 'self-serving coward' sobbed to detectives after leaving his friend dying in his bed while he went out for sandwiches and phoned his mother.

Kimberley McAssey, 29, was found 'cold' and unresponsive in the bed of Ryan Sheridan at his home in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, on February 20, 2021.

The pair had taken MDMA together and had sex before the mother-of-one went to bed while Sheridan sat in his living room and posted Facebook statuses about missing his ex.

But Sheridan did not tell anyone she had died until sending his mother, Emma Heydon, a panicked text saying 'I urgently need to see you' the following morning, an inquest heard.

After his mother arrived, she went back to buy sandwiches for her son before calling 999 to report Mc McAssey's death, the Manchester Evening News reported.

When police arrived, some 30 hours after her death, Sheridan was filmed on police bodycam footage weeping as he is consoled by his mother. 

The 34-year-old refused to attend an inquest into Ms McAssey's death at Rochdale Coroners' Court this week despite being summonsed.

He is now in prison for a Class A drug supply offence and was accused by a coroner of a 'blatant disregard' for his friend who died at his flat nearly four years ago.

Ms McAssey's family were dealt the further heartbreak of not knowing how their daughter died, after the coroner said Sheridan's delay to get help had contributed to her post-mortem being inconclusive.

In the bodycam footage, which was shown in court, PC Nicola Jones asks Sheridan to tell her what happened in the events leading up to Ms McAssey's death.

As he struggles to begin giving his account, Ms Heydon tells the officer: 'It's the fact she's been there since yesterday.'

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Sheridan discusses his version of events, telling police that Ms McAssey asked if he had 'anything to take', before they took some MDMA.

He describes how they moved from watching the TV show Benidorm in the living room to the bedroom, where they had sex.

He tells police he then 'chilled with her' and asked her if she needed anything, before spending around 'an hour' typing Facebook statuses up in the living room, before noticing something was wrong with Ms McAssey.

'I've gone in the bedroom and lied next to her, wondering why she hasn't come in,' Sheridan said.

'I've gone in, lay there, next to her for about half an hour, 40 minutes, and I just thought I'd give her a kiss, I'll make sure she's alright, and put my hand on her... and nothing was right.

'I kissed her and she was cold, and... I just... I tried giving her CPR and pushed her chest, I was saying 'no, no'.'

The conversation took place a week after an allegation of assault was made against Sheridan, involving his former partner.

Sheridan, who was on bail at the time and later admitted the offence, discusses this in the clip - and cited concerns about it when asked by police to explain the 30-hour delay to notify emergency services about Ms McAssey.

Giving her findings after two days of evidence, Ms Kearsley found inaccuracies in the accounts given by Sheridan, particularly regarding Ms McAssey's welfare at the time following sexual intercourse.

'Whilst Mr Sheridan has attempted at times to suggest Kim spoke to him afterwards, I do not find this to be accurate,' the coroner said.

'On balance I am satisfied that the likely scenario is that Kim by the end of sexual intercourse [was] virtually unresponsive.'

Ms Kearsley found that it would be 'unsafe' to record Ms McAssey's death as being caused by drugs, due to Sheridan's actions in delaying the call to 999 and his 'assault of previous partners'.

While Sheridan referred to a 'tiny bit' of MDMA, a toxicology report found the level of the drug in Ms McAssey's system 'above that which you would expect to see if taken recreationally'.

But the inconclusive post-mortem meant her family were left with unanswered questions after the inquest, which saw the coroner record an open conclusion.

The coroner added of Sheridan: 'His self-serving cowardice, which persists to this day, demonstrates a blatant disregard for Kimberley.'

Karrie McAssey, Ms McAssey's mother, described her daughter as 'cheeky, funny, silly, one in a million'.

She added: 'She was a child at heart no matter her age. Her smile changed the world and she never let the world change her smile.

'She was her own person and that's what made Kim so special. We love and miss Kim so very much. Kim leaving us has turned our lives upside down and has destroyed our family.'