Sudden death of California law student studying abroad linked to popular weight loss shot, inquest heard
The sudden death of a California law student, who was found in her London dorm room, has been linked to a popular weight loss drug, an inquest heard.Josephine Nasr, 19, died of a cardiac arrhythmia in her room at the University of East London in September 2025, an East London Coroner’s Court heard last week, the Daily Mail reported.The second-year law student studying abroad had been prescribed Tirzepatide by her doctor in California, and an empty vial of the popular weight loss drug was discovered by university staff who found her on Sept.23, 2025, the outlet reported.Nasr had a body mass index that indicated she was overweight, not obese.
She died just a week after visiting her home in a gated community in Corona, the inquest heard.The 19-year-old had told her father, George Nasr, her mother Lorin Mansour, and her sister, Anastasia Nasr, that she was feeling nauseous and had been vomiting around 8:30 p.m.that evening, the Mail reported.Anastasia Nasr, who was concerned her sister was becoming dehydrated from the vomiting, called a private healthcare provider so the college student could get IV fluids, the inquest heard.But after Josephine Nasr stopped answering, the concerned sibling called the university to do a welfare check — with security staff and a nurse discovering her lying on the bathroom floor.A London Ambulance Service paramedic pronounced the law student dead at the scene, where an empty vial of Tirzepatide was found in her room.The weight loss drug can cause side effects such as vomiting and nausea, according to the Mayo Clinic.The medication, a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, is known under the brand names Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes treatment and Zepbound for weight management and obstructive sleep apnea.An autopsy carried out by pathologist Alan Bates found that Josephine Nasr had a congenital heart condition known as myocardial bridging, which can cause arrhythmia.However, the Tirzepatide-induced vomiting could cause hypoglycemia — a...