A law student died in her university halls of residence after taking weight loss medication, an inquest heard.
Josephine Nasr, 19, had been prescribed Zepbound which doctors think triggered a fatal heart rhythm.
An empty vial of the weight loss drug was found in her room after staff broke in to check on her on September 23 last year.
Miss Nasr was a second-year law student at the University of East London and had only just returned from her home in the Californian city of Corona the previous week.
An inquest at East London Coroner’s Court on Monday August 3 found that Miss Nasr had spoken to family members at about 8.30pm that evening, but was found dead a little over two hours later.
She had told her father, George, her mother Lorin Mansour and her sister, Anastasia, that she had been feeling nauseous and had been vomiting.
The family, who were getting ready for a trip to Egypt, became worried about her and urged her to get some fresh air.
Her sister was concerned Miss Nasr would become dehydrated as a result of vomiting and called a private healthcare provider in order to get her some IV fluids.
Anastasia tried to call her sister, but got no answer, and then tried to contact someone from the university’s security team to request a welfare check.
By the time she managed to speak to a member of the security team, the nurse had arrived at the campus to administer the IV fluids.
Security staff then accompanied the nurse to Miss Nasr’s flat, knocked on the door, but got no answer.
The security staff let themselves in and found her lying on the bathroom floor.
Emergency services were called, but London Ambulance Service (LAS) pronounced the teenager dead at the scene.
Police searched the room and found an empty vial of Tirzepatide, a weight loss drug prescribed in the United States under the name Zepbound and in the UK as Mounjaro.
The inquest heard that Miss Nasr, whose body mass index (BMI) indicated that she was overweight but not obese, had been prescribed the medication by her doctor in the United States, George Solimon, in the summer of 2025.
Tirzepatide’s side effects include vomiting and nausea, the inquest heard.
A post-mortem, carried out by pathologist Alan Bates, found that Josephine had a congenital heart condition, myocardial bridging, which could have contributed to her going into a fatal arrhythmia.
However, Dr Bates also said that vomiting caused by Terzepitide can cause a drop in blood sugar, hypoglycemia, which can cause an electrolyte imbalance that can cause arrhythmia and that Miss Nasr’s heart condition could have made it worse.
He added: “She was an otherwise healthy young woman.”
Dr Bates also said the presence of rigor mortis suggested that the young woman had died closer to when she last spoke to her parents than to when she was found.
When her family were notified of her death, they were at Los Angeles International Airport getting ready to fly to Egypt, where they have family connections.
Her mother answered the call, said “deceased means dead” and then fainted, the court heard.
The Nasrs cancelled their trip, and Mr Nasr flew to London to identify his daughter’s body and prepare her repatriation.
Miss Nasr had been a student at Santiago High School and was due to graduate in international law and legal studies in 2027.
Her family paid tribute to her.
Her father said: “She was full of joy and always helped others before herself.
“She loved travelling and the ocean.”
Her mother said that, while her daughter was quiet, she was committed to her family.
She added: “We are part of the Coptic Church, and the way Josephine was willing to help people showed that she lived her faith.”
Coroner Graeme Irvine made a narrative conclusion, saying that on the balance of probabilities, the death was caused by a cardiac arrhythmia, caused by myocardial bridging and an imbalance of electrolytes caused by hypoglycemia, in turn caused by prescribed tirzepatide.
Mr Irvine also found that, although Anastasia Nasr had spent some time trying to contact the University of East London, the university had changed its policies and, even if Anastasia had been able to get hold of security earlier, it was unlikely that it would have made a difference.
He said: “This is a terrible tragedy and the fact that it happened to someone who was thousands of miles away from her family only made it worse.
“Please accept my sincerest condolences.”
