Police detective Ruby Lockwood was discovered unresponsive by her husband
A Yorkshire father-of-two has shared his “total shock” after finding his wife had suddenly died in her sleep. In October 2023, Dale Lockwood returned home from work to discover his 31-year-old wife Ruby, unresponsive.
Initially, he thought Ruby, a police detective, might be playing a prank, but it quickly became clear that the unthinkable had occurred. Ruby, described as “healthy” and “active”, had suffered from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), a condition where an individual dies suddenly and unexpectedly due to a cardiac arrest.
Ruby had finished a night shift and gone to bed when Dale found her. Dale, now 34, said: “It was shock I think.
“Shock just totally takes over. My initial thought was, ‘Is this a set up, a joke?’
“We had quite a dark sense of humour – but not that dark. I was looking for a hidden camera.
“I was thinking. ‘It’s a really awful joke, this can’t be happening’.”
Despite calling for an ambulance, medical professionals were unable to determine what had happened. A post-mortem examination suggested hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart muscle becomes thickened, as the cause.
However, in August 2024, the cause of death was confirmed as SADS. Dale stated that there had been no previous signs of any heart issues prior to Ruby’s death.
Ruby, from Birstall in West Yorkshire, had given birth to their second child, Winifred, but remained active at work. And before this, she was an avid gym-goer and runner.
Dale said: “She had just had our second child but she was keeping active. She was always at the gym and loved running.
“Part of my first thoughts were, ‘How on earth can this be happening?” Following her death, Dale became determined to understand more about SADS.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) explains that SADS typically occurs when a dangerously abnormal heart rhythm goes untreated, leading to a cardiac arrest. “It is really tragic and seems sudden but there’s a reason it’s happening,” Dale stated.
“It’s often genetics.” Concerned for their children, Dale sought additional help and both Arthur, five, and Winifred, three, have been referred to a cardiology department for lifelong monitoring.
He also hopes to raise awareness of the condition, encouraging other families to seek support. Dale, who works as a deputy head teacher, said: “Part of the reason I want to spread awareness is for other families.
“If this had happened to them, unless they went through the process I went through they would not know their children are also at risk.” As part of his awareness campaign, he has participated in several sponsored events to raise money and awareness.
This includes the Great North Run in 2024 and the London Marathon earlier this year. He is also scheduled to complete an ultramarathon this October.
Dale added: “The main point is raising awareness – to bang that drum and make sure people have that opportunity to access that information. “People need to understand the fact that, without sounding morbid, this happens to normal families and normal people.
“This is not just happening in the over 60s, we shouldn’t just worry about our parents and grandparents. Children and young people are dying.
“People are losing children. That shouldn’t happen in this day and age.”
As part of her legacy, Dale shares details of his fundraising efforts on an Instagram page called “Be More Ruby”. He added: “I ask people to think how can you be more like her.
“Everyone would be a better person if they could be more like here.” To donate to Dale’s ultramarathon in aid of the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young, visit his Just Giving page here.
His story comes as part of a new BHF campaign that highlights how one person in the UK dies every three minutes from cardiovascular disease. Recent figures have also shown that the UK’s heart health has declined more quickly at the start of the 2020s than in any other decade for over 50 years, with deaths from cardiovascular disease in working-age adults rising by 18 per cent from 2019 to 2023.