A mother had 'no chance of survival' after she took multiple doses of liquid ecstasy on a cruise, a forensic toxicologist has said.
The body of Dianne Brimble, 42, from Brisbane, was found naked in a cabin during a trip on the P&O ship Pacific Sky in September 2002.
Ms Brimble was on holiday with her daughter and the pair had spent years saving up for the trip.
Although neither a criminal trial nor a coronial inquest could not determine a cause of death, William Allender, a former police forensic toxicologist, believes she died after taking multiple doses of the drug.
Dianne Brimble, (pictured), from Brisbane, was found dead in a cabin while travelling on the Pacific Sky ship with her daughter in September 2002
'Because she was drinking alcohol while enjoying herself as a regular passenger, unfortunately in combination (with GHB) resulted in her respiratory system shutting down and the poor woman died,' he told the Courier Mail.
'Nothing seemed to come out of that case, I explained the combination resulted in her death, I was asked if she had any chance of survival and I said sadly I don't think so.'
Dr Allender said Ms Brimble must have been dosed repeatedly because she died later in the night in her cabin.
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ShareIf she was subjected to one big dose she would have collapsed in the restaurant or the ballroom much earlier on.
He said a big problem at the inquest and following criminal trial, where four experts couldn't agree the facts of the drug use, was that it was difficult to calculate how much GHB was absorbed.
'Alcohol is very easy, it secretes and metabolises at a known rate you can calculate, but GHB doesn't follow those nice orderly kinetics in the body which made it difficult to give an accurate answer in the coronial inquest,' he said.
Dianne Brimble was found naked in a cabin after taking multiple doses of GHB (pictured: cabin where Brimble's body was found)
Dr Allender said that he sympathised with Mrs Brimble's family.
'I was disappointed with the outcome and my heart really went out to the poor woman and particularly her family. It is really quite a tragic case,' he said.
After her death, eight men from Adelaide were considered as 'persons of interest'.
During a coronial inquest in 2006, prosecutors claimed the mother had died after being drugged with GHB and fantasy.
One of the men Mark Wilhelm, admitted to having sex with the 42-year-old shortly before her death.
He pleaded guilty to supplying her with the drug fantasy in April 2010.
After a long running trial the jury were unable to reach a verdict and the charges laid against three of the men were downgraded.
One of the men Mark Wilhelm (pictured), admitted to having sex with the 42-year-old shortly before her death.
Mrs Brimble had saved up to go on the trip for years and was holidaying with her daughter (pictured: Pacific Sky Ship cruise)
Evidence was given that Mrs Brimble took the drug intentionally and sex with Willhelm was consensual.
The jury was hung after jurors were unable to determine whether the drug had significantly caused her death.
GHB is a depressant drug which slows down messages that travel from the brain to the body.
It is commonly referred to as fantasy or liquid ecstasy and gives the user a sense of euphoria.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS WHICH LED TO THE DEATH OF DIANNE BRIMBLE IN 2002
September 23 2002 - Dianne Brimble boarded the Pacific Sky cruise ship for a ten day cruise to Nouméa, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu.
She was accompanied by her sister, Alma Wood, her daughter, Tahlia Marshall, and her niece.
September 24 2002 - Dianne was seen leaving the ship's disco with four men who became persons of interest following her death.
The ship's emergency paramedics are called to cabin D182 when two men failed to revive Dianne and she was pronounced dead.
She was discovered to have died by overdosing on a combination of alcohol and gamma-hydroxybutyrate, otherwise known as 'GHB' or 'fantasy'.
September 26 2002 - Detectives board the ship while in port in Nouméa and begin questioning various witnesses.
Dianne's cabin was sealed for further investigation although the cabin where she was found was not and the four occupants, Wilhelm, Slade, Kuchel and Silvestri are moved to another cabin.
The mother-of-three had her body removed from the ship and transported back to Australia.
October 4 2002 - A funeral is held in Brisbane for Dianne and more than 250 people attended included her former husband Mark Brimble and her partner David Mitchell.
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