The Voice and The X Factor singer and gamer, 23, died suddenly while playing on her Xbox late into the night with friends online, inquest hears
- Natanya Brook, 23, – known as Tanya – died while playing Xbox with friends
- Her mother thought she was sleeping, before realising something was wrong
- An inquest heard she had a history of seizures and epilepsy since childhood
- Coroner ruled she died of unknown, natural causes, likely connected to epilepsy
A semi-professional gamer who also auditioned for The Voice and The X Factor died suddenly while playing online with friends late into the night, a coroner heard today.
Natanya Brook, 23, – known as Tanya – died while playing Xbox with friends in a virtual reality room, staying up until at least 2am at her home in Aylesford near Maidstone, Kent and drinking vodka and Coca Cola.
The following morning her mother, Jenny Brook, checked her room to find her in bed. She thought she was asleep but a few hours later when she returned and found her daughter in the same position, she knew something was wrong, the inquest was told.
Mrs Brook attempted CPR and called emergency services but Tanya was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
During an inquest the coroner heard how Tanya, was a passionate gamer who played on a team at a ‘very good’ level. She was part of a semi-professional gaming team and loved singing, having auditioned for The X Factor and The Voice.
Natanya Brook – known as Tanya – died suddenly while playing Xbox with her friends online
Coroner Bina Patel heard how Tanya had been drinking vodka and Coca Cola at the time of her death and was last seen gaming by her mother at around 2am on August 1.
Jenny explained how Tanya’s gaming friends recalled hearing the gamer suddenly saying ‘ooh, I feel…’ and then silence.
She had a history of seizures, including childhood absence epilepsy since she was six years old. The condition often put her in danger as a young child where she would zone out, with her mother saving her from harm on a number of occasions.
A post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Deirdre McKenna, revealed there were no abnormalities in any of Tanya’s major organs and that she was unable to find the exact cause of her death.
Ms Patel recorded a narrative conclusion, stating that Tanya was found in her bedroom at her home address on August 1 where she died of unknown but natural causes, likely because of problems connected to epilepsy.
Speaking about the finding, her mother Jenny said: ‘We always told Tanya her epilepsy was a diagnosis and not an excuse to not do anything and that’s how she lived her life. She changed people’s lives whether it be encouraging people to sing or making them smile.
‘She just had this ability to pull people towards her. I don’t think there is any more she could have done in her 23 years.’
The mother explained how Tanya’s gaming friends recalled hearing the gamer suddenly saying ‘ooh, I feel…’ and then silence.
‘It’s like a light switch went out. That brings me a little bit of peace as I know she wasn’t in any sort of pain as they would have heard it. I still have a gaping hole in me and miss her as she was such an amazing bright light in my life.’
Paying tribute, she added: ‘Tanya was my best friend. I told her everything and she told me everything, even some of the things I didn’t want to know. She had the best sense of humour and nobody I know had a bad memory of her.
‘Tanya was a real people’s person and could easily stop people arguing. This girl was beyond amazing.’
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