Nurse tried to save street stabbing victim Kerry Smith

A nurse battled to save a dying mother who was stabbed in a Black Country street, an inquest heard.

Kerry Louise Smith, aged 29, of Hanover Road, Rowley Regis, died on Sunday after she was attacked in Blackheath High Street in broad daylight.

The inquest into her death was opened yesterday by Black Country coroner Robin Balmain.

He said she suffered a fatal stab wound following an argument.

"A nurse who was passing gave her assistance, and she was taken to Russells Hall Hospital, but she later died," he added.

Mr Balmain said he was aware that David Richard Palmer, aged 39, of Mincing Lane, Blackheath, has been charged with murder and that the case was going to be dealt with at crown court.

He added that he did not require a second post mortem to be carried out and said that the pathologist found that Miss Smith had died of a stab wound to the chest.

The hearing was told that Miss Smith, the mother of an 18-month-old daughter, had suffered two stab wounds to the chest and one to the back before collapsing to the ground.

Mr Balmain issued a death certificate and adjourned the hearing until after any court proceedings had concluded.

A tribute group on the social networking website Facebook has been flooded with more than 4,500 messages following the tragedy. Police officers set up a cordon near the Malt Shovel pub in High Street, close to where the attack happened, and carried out door-to-door inquiries.

Her former partner Palmer is due to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on November 2.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has confirmed that it will not need to be involved in the investigation at this stage, after it was referred to them by the West Midlands force.

The force had referred the case to the IPCC for an impartial review of all the circumstances as the victim and accused were both known to officers.