A second post-mortem examination is to be held on a Denbigh woman who died following a stabbing in the town.

At the opening of an inquest in Ruthin on Monday it was revealed that Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers decided that Laura Jayne Stuart died of shock and haemorrhage as a result of a stab wound to her chest.

The 33-year-old mother-of-two, of Love Lane, Denbigh, was wounded at about 4am on August 12 and died the following day at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Jason Cooper, 27, also of Denbigh, has appeared at Mold Crown Court charged with her attempted murder and been remanded in custody. The charge is expected to be upgraded to one of murder.

At a brief hearing in Ruthin John Gittins, coroner for North Wales East and Central, said that Cooper’s solicitor had requested a second post mortem.

Mr Gittins said that because of the criminal proceedings he did not intend to list the matter for a full hearing.

Ms Stuart, who worked as a carer at the Highfield Home in Llangwyfan, is understood to have been at a party on the night of her stabbing. A friend of her’s, David Roberts, was also injured in the incident.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking into the contact North Wales Police had with Ms Stuart prior to her death.