KEY POINTS:
The grieving father of a girl who died at a Mt Maunganui party this week has spoken of his heartache at seeing a third child die from the same rare hereditary disease.
Before 18-year-old Courtney died this week, Bay of Plenty parents-of-five Bruce and Nancy Coppell had already lost Joshua, 16, and Rebecca, 13, to a cardiac disease that causes the heart to race. Bruce said Courtney was tested in July after Joshua died while cycling home and thought she was in the clear "but sadly it's not the case".
Courtney died after an argument at a "party house" on Korowai St. Bruce said she was under stress on that night, having just broken up with her boyfriend and still struggling to cope with her brother's death.
"I don't know what the hell she was trying to do that night at the party because she was still hanging around with these mates including her ex-boyfriend. She had picked a fight with a girl there that had stolen her boyfriend because it made her feel used but... she just dropped... died instantly."
Bruce said Courtney was a "very, very smart, beautiful and bubbly girl".
Joshua's death had "overwhelmed" her because they were the "two closest siblings". He was treated at Whakatane Hospital where she worked as a receptionist.
"It just blew her mind seeing her brother dying in front of her."
Bruce said he and his wife weren't allowed to see Courtney's body because her death was initially thought to be a homicide.
"We weren't allowed to go to the hospital, we weren't allowed to go anywhere near Courtney so we had to come back home without her."
Courtney's funeral is at the Marae Pakaianga in Ruatoki tomorrow.
Bruce, a mechanic, called for the Government to fund research into the condition and said it was hard knowing his other daughters, Monique, 25, and Ashley, 22, and his wife carried the gene.
"It's also a hell of a thing for the ones that remain because you never know when it might happen to you."
