He was described by loved ones as a fun-loving and happy character
19:10, 28 Oct 2025Updated 05:31, 29 Oct 2025
Police and forensic officers outside a property on the junction of Winchester Avenue and Swaythling Grove, Bentilee(Image: Pete Stonier / Stoke Sentinel)
A ‘loving and funny’ former HGV driver was tragically found dead by his mother after turning to pain medication to cope with horrific injuries. Aaron Shepherd, aged just 34, was discovered in his room at his home in Swaythling Grove, Bentilee, on the morning of March 24.
An inquest into his death heard Aaron began relying on prescription drugs after developing chronic pain from a series of traumatic accidents. Aaron’s GP, Dr Steven Fawcett, explained that his troubles began after he ‘sustained life-threatening injuries’ in a serious motorbike crash in November 2022.
The collision left Aaron in a coma for six weeks, as he recovered from brain damage, eight broken ribs, a punctured lung and cardiac arrest. He later developed epilepsy and pancreatitis as a result.
Just two years later, in December 2024, Aaron would suffer another injury after water made contact with the oil in a chip fryer. He suffered 40 per cent burns across his body and was placed into another coma for two weeks.
Aaron’s long-time girlfriend, Roxanne Sanders, told the inquest that he turned to painkillers to cope. She said: “He was a happy individual who was always having a laugh and a joke. He didn’t take things too seriously and he liked to make the people around him smile. But he did change after the motorbike accident, which left him struggling with pain. This was made worse after he sustained 40 per cent burns to his body.
“Aaron said his skin and his bones hurt. He tried to manage this with prescribed pain medication, such as codeine. Often he would take more than he’d been prescribed. It was almost like he wanted to feel numb. In December 2024, I became aware he was purchasing painkillers which he was not prescribed.
“I would know when he hadn’t taken medication, as he would be quite stiff in his mobility and himself. But when he had taken it, he could relax and it would almost seem like he could feel normal.”
Police and forensic officers outside a property on the junction of Winchester Avenue and Swaythling Grove, Bentilee(Image: Pete Stonier / Stoke Sentinel)
His father, Paul Burton, saw Aaron on a near-daily basis. He told the inquest that Aaron’s reliance on his medication became more apparent in the early months of 2025.
“Aaron was quite secretive around medication and tablets,” he explained. “He would say that he’d started a new medication and that was why he was not being himself. I would say Aaron became worse with it in the last few weeks leading up to his death. He said they were prescribed medications.”
Speaking on whether Aaron would deliberately overdose, he added: “Aaron has never mentioned thoughts of suicide or taking his own life. He has never had an overdose before.”
Tragically, Aaron was found dead after taking too much medication. His mother, Ida Shepherd, made the discovery after he returned from the Boor Inn pub on Sunday, March 23.
She recalled: “Aaron got home sometime between 11pm and midnight. He shouted out, ‘Are you alright Mum? I’m going to bed now’. He didn’t sound drunk.
“The next day I found Aaron laying on the floor. I knew something was wrong, so I called an ambulance.”
A toxicology report showed that while Aaron had no alcohol or recreational drugs in his system but he did painkillers and a ‘high dose’ of diazepam. A pathologist suggested the high levels caused toxicity, leading to the shutdown of the respiratory and central nervous system.
Coroner Daniel Howe concluded that Aaron died from a drug-related death caused by non-prescribed medication.
He said: “Aaron Shepherd was found deceased at home, having passed away from diazepam and morphine toxicity, with enlargement of the heart as a contributory factor. He had a history of chronic pain and medication overuse.
“I’m not of the view that he deliberately caused his own death. I’m not satisfied there’s sufficient evident to suggest suicide. There’s no indication that he intended to harm himself.”
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