Corrie actor’s disturbing final hours before sudden death – drugs binge and lost in forest

A promising, “joyful” actor tragically died after taking a cocktail of drugs at a music festival abroad.

Joseph Wandera, 27, suffered a seizure at an apartment in the beach resort of Tamarindo in Costa Rica and sadly died on January 16, 2022. Joseph, who had roles in Coronation Street, Scott and Bailey and Moving On, had been abroad for the BPM music festival with friends when he suddenly collapsed, an inquest heard on Tuesday.

His devastated mum, Claire Beatson, told Rochdale Coroners’ Court that she was “shocked” to discover Joseph had taken ecstasy and admitted to his girlfriend, Alison Maloney, that he had consumed an unknown drug called ‘Pink Stuff’. The day before his death, he texted her to say he was “getting on it like mad”.

On the morning of the day of his death, Joseph sent another chilling text to his girlfriend, who was back in England. It read: “Not gonna lie, I don’t know what was in the f***ing thing that I f***ing took. I can only type with my left hand and now I can’t see out of my left eye.” He added that he had been throwing up and had “not slept for two days”, the MEN reports.

Joseph’s friend and fellow holidayer, Renay Zollner, told the court that “the boys” were staying in a villa in Costa Rica and she was staying in an apartment. She recalled Joseph “looked tired” on the flight out but said he seemed “otherwise healthy”. She noted that Joseph had been taking MDMA (ecstasy), although she wasn’t sure how much.

Renay said “everybody” had been buying it from local dealers and Joseph tried a drug called Pink Stuff, a form of pink powder. She saw him “snort” it a “few days” before his death. The group was a week into the holiday when Renay fell asleep at 3am and received a WhatsApp message from Joseph asking if she could pick him up.

She drove 50 minutes to a location he had sent her “in the middle of a forest by the coast” and found him. Joseph had bags under his eyes but she said this was “normal”. Renay continued: “All of us were sleep deprived because of all the partying, drinking and drugs”. He could not provide her with the location of his villa, so she drove him back to her apartment.

Joseph suggested he sleep on the sofa, but she refused and put a blanket over him on the bed. She noted he was “not hot or sweaty”. Then at 7.15am, one of the boys who had also stayed at her apartment called Fidel, woke her up to say Joseph was “fitting on the floor”. Renay told him to put him in the recovery position.

Five minutes later, Fidel shouted at her to come down and he “looked panicked”. She said she found Joseph on the floor and she could not find a pulse but could detect some breathing. The ambulance service was called and Renay said they were advised to “start CPR”, with Fidel doing chest compressions.

When paramedics arrived at the apartment, they said “nothing more could be done”, Renay said. The day before his death, Joseph sent his mum a text message to say he had been at a party and was “having a good time”. Ms Beatson learned of her son’s death from his girlfriend, the court was told. She described him as “a humorous, kind young man”.

A toxicological report revealed there was ketamine and ecstasy in Joseph’s blood. A post-mortem examination concluded there were no suspicious circumstances. Area coroner Catherine McKenna said the medical cause of death was ‘ketamine and MDMA toxicity’. She added: “Joseph took these drugs of his own free will and I’m satisfied he did not intend this outcome.”

The coroner said she hoped the death “serves as a warning to people taking recreational drugs”. She added: “Joseph was a talented, gregarious and joyful young man who had a promising career ahead of him and everything to live for.”