It had been a "gut-wrenching" four years for her parents watching her battle drug addiction. At least for now she appeared to be on the right track, finally, things were looking promising.
After entering the home, she made a beeline for her mother, Trudi Morris, who wished her happy birthday.
"She goes, ‘high five, I made it to 30′ and I’m saying, ‘thank god for that,’ and we joked about it because there were times where she thought she wouldn’t make it and there were times where I thought she wouldn’t make it."
Nicole’s father Clive Morris then dropped her off at home.
A week later she suffered what would be fatal injuries when she fell from a moving car. Nearly six years on her parents are waiting for a coroner to make a ruling about their daughter’s death.
‘She lost everything to drugs’
A very vocal, outgoing, and "hilarious" child, Nicole was often in trouble at school for being too loud.
"She had a colourful personality her whole life. You could hear her coming before you’d see her," her mother recalls.
She was also bright, and went to Chile as an exchange student at 17 years old and learned Spanish.
From an early age, Nicole’s biggest ambition was to be a businesswoman, often coming up with business plans using some of her mother’s real estate work. As she got older, she got involved in gib stopping and painting as her love for working on building sites grew.
Then came the drugs. Not a big drinker, it started with marijuana use, and then after a relationship break-up she started using methamphetamine.
Trudi Morris says she started noticing subtle changes in her daughter and called her ex-husband Clive.
"We’ve got a problem," she told him.
The issues were news to Clive, who was used to seeing his daughter in full makeup looking happy.
It was arranged that the next time Nicole went to her mum’s on a comedown from methamphetamine, that Trudi would call Clive and he would see for himself.
When he turned up, his daughter was sitting outside, wrapped in a blanket, cold, cigarette in hand, about to fall asleep.
Trudi Morris starts crying when she thinks about the impact drugs had on her daughter.
"It was gut-wrenching … She was so ashamed. And that’s the saddest part,
"She would cry and say, ‘Oh mum, I’ve lost everything’, and I’d say well you’ve had it before, you can do it again ... she lost everything to drugs."
Leading up to the end of 2016, Nicole appeared to be doing better.
"We had the best year with her. We were ‘hands up, we understand, and we will work with you through this’. Instead of saying, ‘You need to go to rehab, you need to do this’. We will help you."
"We had a lovely, lovely day. She was very nervous about it because she hadn’t seen either nana for three years because she was too ashamed. She didn’t want them to see her addiction."
January 19, 2017, was Nicole’s 30th birthday. She spent the evening at her father’s for dinner.
"We were quite chuffed," Clive said.
"We thought she was on the way up."
Fatal fall
A week later, on January 27, Nicole spent the day with three of her friends. According to police statements from the group, seen by the Weekend Herald, they went to a pawn shop in the morning before heading to another shop in Sydenham about 1pm.
One of the group, who the Weekend Herald has chosen not to name, suspected Nicole had taken some drugs based on her mental state.
"One minute she would be almost asleep and the next minute, acting aggressively."
At one point he noticed Nicole was slumped forward and non-responsive for about 15 minutes. He lifted her back into a sitting position and shook her lightly and she regained consciousness.
One of the group returned from a shoe shop wearing two different shoes. The man wanted Nicole to go back in and steal the other shoe, but she refused.
The pair argued about the shoe and the driver went to drive off when Nicole opened the door and got out as the car moved slowly. The driver stopped and they told Nicole to get back in the car.
About 5pm they arrived at a liquor store on Papanui Rd. Nicole and two of the men went inside and she stole two bottles of alcohol.
One of the men who went into the shop with her, said he did not know what she was going to do with the alcohol, but said the group was stealing things to get more drugs.
The man working at the liquor store would later tell police Nicole seemed "fine".
"She didn’t seem out of it on drugs or alcohol and she seemed quite lucid in her conversations with me."
After getting back into the car an argument broke out about the alcohol, according to witness statements.
What happened next is the key to the police and Coroner investigations - and lies at the heart of Trudi’s search for answers. A few moments later and Nicole fell from the vehicle, striking her head on the paved road and losing consciousness.
‘Nicole’s been in an accident’
Trudi Morris was in the garden when she saw the police officer coming up her driveway. Nicole was not unfamiliar with the police, so she told the officer she was not home.
"He said ‘there’s been a bad accident, Nicole’s been in an accident’ and I panicked."
Wearing leggings and no shoes she started to run down the driveway. The officer told her to get dressed, get some shoes, close the house up, and then they would go to the hospital.
While in the police car she called Clive in hysterics, telling him to get to the hospital.
She had her first brain surgery that evening and was placed on life support. Two days later she had more surgery due to the extent of her brain swelling.
"It seemed to be working quite well for the first week and a half and I was saying ‘she knows when we’re here, she can sense it’," Trudi said.
"Every day I’d get excited going to the hospital because I’d think ‘she’s going to do it today, she’s going to wake up’."
She recalls one occasion when her daughter woke.
"I put my hand on her shoulder and said, ‘Nicole you’ve got to calm down, you’re in the hospital, you’re okay and we’re all here’. And her eyes opened halfway so I got down and said, ‘We’ve got you, you’re going to be okay, you’re going to get through this’. And she fully opened her eyes and she burst into tears. She absolutely burst into tears."
However, as the weeks went on Nicole’s condition deteriorated and she showed no signs of improving.
Her brain was vegetated and was failing.
The medical team held meetings with the family to discuss the possibility of turning off Nicole’s life support.
Twenty-two days after the incident, Nicole died in hospital with her parents and stepmother by her side.
"It was heartbreaking."
‘We want to know the truth’
From the moment they arrived at the hospital and heard their daughter had fallen from the car, Clive and Trudi Morris had questions.
But a police investigation found no evidence of criminal liability or suspicious circumstances.
Her death was then referred to the coroner. Nearly six years on, the family are waiting for the coroner to officially rule on what happened.
"We want to know the truth, whatever that actually is, that’s okay I think with both of us, we just want an outcome," Clive says.
"We understand being the coroner, it won’t be an easy job to do - what they need to do to come to a resolution. But six years is a long time."
Trudi says she will "finally be able to move forward" once she gets a report from the coroner.
"The years that go on aren’t any easier when you’re still waiting for answers and wanting to know what’s really happened and we carry on with our lives, we have to, and we do. You learn to live in another way but in the back of your mind there’s always that niggle."
"You learn to live in another way but in the back of your mind there’s always that niggle."
A coronial spokesperson said Nicole’s death was still active with the coroner.
The spokesperson said every death reported to the coroner was different and the circumstances of some meant they may take longer to investigate.
"Coroners must consider evidence from a range of sources and a coronial investigation is unable to be completed until all the other agencies involved have completed their investigations."
A coroner may put their investigation on hold pending the outcomes of another agency’s investigation such as police, the Health and Disability Commission, and medical agencies, among others.
"This may mean coronial investigations can take years to be concluded. These investigations are important to inform coroners’ recommendations to be effective in helping prevent future deaths occurring in similar circumstances."
Further delays had also arisen in the past couple of years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with staff turnover.
A police spokesperson said the matter was now with the coroner.
"The family were provided updates on the investigation as relevant information was obtained and reviewed.
"Victim Support Services were provided to the family at the beginning of the investigation."
‘I wish that was Nicole’
A framed photo of Nicole smiling as she raises a glass of beer sits on the bench in Trudi’s kitchen.
Trudi and Clive think about her every day.
"Whenever I see someone with long, dark hair I just look and say, ‘I wish that was Nicole’."
They’re thankful for that final year with her.
"She got the best last year of her life with people not questioning her. The hugs, the laughter, the fun," Trudi says.
It’s those moments they cling on to.
"The great memories are the ones that keep you going because if you focused on the sad ones, you wouldn’t get through. You wouldn’t be able to work, to continue your life."
- Sam Sherwood
Where to get help:
Alcohol and Drug Helpline provides free confidential support if you want to talk about your own, or someone else’s drug use. Call 0800 787 797 For urgent help call 111 Alcohol and Drug Helplines are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week free from landline or mobile. Call: 0800 787 797 text: 8681 or visit their website.
