BU student dies after taking MDMA

Tayla Woodard, a third year Journalism student, died on March 9 after taking a fatal dose of MDMA on a night out, an inquest heard.

She had been on a night out at Plan B in Brixton with her boyfriend and the pair had shared a bag of the drug, also known as ecstasy.

Tayla collapsed in her boyfriend Alex Rickett’s house after the show and died in hospital the early hours of Sunday March 9.

The couple had taken MDMA together before, with BU product design student Alex saying they took it every two to three weeks.

They had been sharing a one gram bag of the drug but Alex said: “We didn’t take as much as we normally do.”

Tayla’s father Russell Woodard has spoken out about his daughter drug use: “She confessed to us in her first year of uni that she had taken drugs.

“At the time I did some research on the internet. I found it quite difficult to get information about it – all the information came from other MDMA users and forums.

“I said to her ‘Do you think it would be a good idea to carry on taking it because you don’t know what’s in it?’

“That’s when she probably thought it best not to tell me she had taken it. I would not be surprised to find out she had taken it after that but surprised that she had taken it every three weeks.”

Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield ruled an accidental death from MDMA toxicity.

He said: “They were going to go and have a good time and take some drugs.

“It was an intentional use of MDMA. It is not unusual for young people. Unfortunately on this occasion it had tragic and fatal consequences.”