Grim warning issued by police over lethal ‘Superman’ pills on sale across UK after man dies thinking it was ecstasy

A MAN found dead in his bath tub was the victim of a "fatal lottery" when he was killed by lethal 'Superman' pills he thought was Ecstasy, a coroner has said.

Bulgarian-born Rosen Ivanov is the latest victim of the pill - dubbed Dr Death - which contains a potentially-lethal drug called paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA).

Coroner Simon Wickens has issued a stark warning about the drug, after the 27-year-old was killed during a night of drug-taking and drinking alcohol with his roommate.

It follows the tragic deaths of 15-year-old schoolgirl Martha Fernback and British couple Suzanne Van Hagen and John Worton whose nine-year-old daughter found them dead in bed after taking the pill bearing a Superman logo.

The coroner said: "He and a friend purchased what they believed to be Ecstasy tablets that actually contained PMMA.

"The drug did not have an instant affect on Rosen and as a result he kept taking them, the amount of PMMA consumed being sufficient to be fatal.

"The combination of PMMA plus the MDMA in the tablet and earlier consumption of amphetamine was also a factor in his death.

"Rosen's death highlights the dangers of taking tablets the contents of which are completely unknown to the taker.

"You may think you know what it is but the reality is you don't know what is contained in tablets such as this.

"It is a fatal lottery when you take tablets like this. If you take such a tablet you take the same risk."

The Surrey coroner, holding the inquest in Woking, heard Mr Ivanov had purchased and taken two 'Superman' tablets which he and his friend believed to be Ecstasy.

But the tablets were predominantly made of 'Superman' PMMA with only a small amount of the 'Ecstasy' MDMA.

The pair had earlier taken powdered amphetamines and alcohol.

The high dosage of the PMMA drug in each tablet caused a delayed reaction, leading Mr Ivanov to take more than necessary.

Mr Ivanov moved to the United Kingdom in 2014 and worked as a production manager at a printers, while living at Worcester Park flat in Epsom.

Speaking in court, his room mate and friend of ten years, Dinko Karavalchev, said they had 'done' drugs, mainly amphetamines, on several occasions in Bulgaria but only three times in the year they had been together in Britain.

The night before his death on on August 21, 2015, they went to buy firstly alcohol, a bottle of vodka and whisky, then contacted a drug dealer.

Mr Ivanov picked up the amphetamine powder they had consumed before, but also brought back the 'Superman' pills, translucent with an S on them, saying it was Ecstasy.

Mr Karavalchev said they returned to the flat. "We put alcohol in glasses to drink and we decided to take some lines of amphetamines, taking one or two at a time.

"We had bought three Ecstasy tablets but I said I didn't want to take the whole pill as they could be too strong.

"I offered to cut up the tablet, did so into thirds. We had third each then after while Rosen had other third as he said it was not affecting him."

The pair continued to take the tablets, cut into thirds each time, resulting in Mr Ivanov consuming two full tablets but Mr Karavalchev less, as he felt unwell.

The coroner and Mr Ivanov's mother, Nadca Donewa, asked Mr Karavalchev whether there was a delay in a call for emergency services.

Mr Karavalchev said he found Mr Ivanov sweating profusely and lying on the floor, so he moved him into the bathtub to cool him down with the shower.

But his condition worsened and his eyes 'began to bulge' and his limbs 'moved in a contorted way'.

Mr Karavalchev said there was just 10 minutes between Mr Ivanov's collapse and him running to the neighbour to call the emergency services.

However on arrival paramedics noted in their report, read out in court, the onset of rigor mortis which occurs between two and six hours after a person has died.

The coroner said "Mr Karavalchev thought Rosen had died and ran out the flat and contact a neighbour. This neighbour then contacted the emergency services.

"Rosen was pronounced dead by paramedics, rigor mortis had set in at 6.47am when they arrived. As Rosen's mother clearly acknowledges there is a discrepancy of timings.

"We will never know the true times of Rosen's death. What is clear is that timings do not appear to add up.

"It was not only Rosen who was taking drugs that night into early morning and recognition of Mr Karavalchev's evident state is factored in.

"Neither this court or his family will know if earlier intervention could have saved him."

Mr Ivanov's mother, who travelled from Bulgaria, told her son's friend "I just want to say you should have helped him sooner and if you had my child would be living."

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