Olivia Wojciechowska, 19, was attending a Halloween-themed party when she suddenly collapsed
13:58, 16 Mar 2026Updated 15:15, 16 Mar 2026
Olivia Wojciechowska, 19
The original version of this article incorrectly stated the event at which Olivia collapsed was held at Blackstock Market. The event was in fact at Blackstone Street Warehouse.
A funny, popular university student died after suddenly collapsing at a Halloween rave. Olivia Wojciechowska, 19, was attending a Halloween party at Blackstone Street Warehouse when she suffered an apparent seizure and was rushed to the Royal Liverpool Hospital.
Her condition deteriorated and she was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she died on November 7, 2025. Her friend Scarlett Tonna said: “She was hilarious, she was always the life of the party. She’d always love going out and being involved in all the socials. She was in the Cheer Society at John Moores and she’d go out with them and dress up.”
Another friend, Niamh Bosher, added: “Her first week she came as a bumble bee. Then she came as a pineapple with these massive feathers on her head. She always loved to dress up and go out.”
Scarlet said: “She loved uni, she had so many friends here. She was loved by so many people. (Losing her) was awful for everyone. We had a memorial walk a few days after she passed away and there were hundreds and hundreds of people there who knew her and cared about her.
“We did a fundraiser and thousands of people donated to it, and it racked up quite a lot of money. She was honestly so popular and everyone loved her.”
An inquest at Liverpool Coroners’ Court today, Monday (March 16), heard how Olivia, a second year business student at Liverpool John Moores University, had attended the Halloween rave at the venu in Vauxhall on November 1 last year. Before the event, she took a taxi to Scarlett’s house, where she revealed she had MDMA (ecstasy) in her possession.
The pair arrived at the Halloween rave at around 4pm, and Scarlett said she saw Olivia take MDMA around one to two hours later.
Olivia Wojciechowska, 19, was a second year business student at Liverpool John Moores University
Another member of the group said they saw Olivia consuming MDMA before she collapsed at around 10.05pm. She was taken to a welfare tent, where staff used bags of ice to try to bring her temperature down. An ambulance was called and she was taken to Royal Liverpool Hospital, arriving at 11.45pm.
She was taken to the emergency department, where she was intubated and placed on a ventilator. Her liver and kidney functions deteriorated and she was given medication and placed on dialysis.
On November 3 she was approved for a liver transplant, and was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on November 5. However, a CT scan that day “confirmed that sadly Olivia was unlikely to survive”, and she died two days later before the transplant could be carried out.
A post-mortem examination found her cause of death was multi-organ failure, acute liver failure, and drug intoxication. A registered organ donor, Olivia donated her lungs and her heart, saving the lives of two other people.
Recording a conclusion of a drug-related death, coroner Helen Rimmer said: “Olivia did donate her lungs and her heard prior to her death, and she has given that gift of life to at least two individuals and she has saved two other people.
“I accept the medical cause of death as multi-organ failure, acute liver failure and drug intoxication. She had consumed ecstasy at a rave event in Liverpool on November 1 with fatal consequences.”
Following her death, Olivia was repatriated to Northern Ireland, where her funeral took place at St Colmcille’s Church, East Belfast, on December 12 last year.
Niamh said: “It seemed like every time you’d go out with Liv, every five minutes you’d stop and talk to someone. She knew everyone and everyone knew her.
“On her birthday we went down the docks and laid flowers down, and a few other people went down too. The Cheer Society’s doing a charity event for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust that helped her get home. Everybody still thinks about her and they’re still planning things.”
For impartial advice on drugs, you can ring FRANK anytime and speak to a friendly adviser who is professionally trained to give you straight up, unbiased information about drugs and alcohol.It’s totally confidential – FRANK won’t ask for your name or repeat your conversation with others.Freephone: 0300 123 6600 talktofrank.com.