A mother died from shock and loss of blood after being stabbed in the neck and chest, an inquest has heard.

Melanie Jayne Gray was discovered half-naked, lying beside a bed, with multiple stab wounds.

Police believe she may have been killed as she struggled with a sex attacker.

The 38-year-old was repeatedly knifed in the early hours of Sunday, April 24, before the killer torched the home where she lived with her partner.

The inquest in Chichester yesterday was adjourned pending a case at Lewes Crown Court where a 24-year-old man has been charged with her murder.

Ms Gray, married three times and separated from her last husband, had five children, the oldest 21, who all live in Sussex.

She worked for West Sussex County Council as a children's carer. The shelter she was living at, for single parents and children, was not her home.

She lived in Furness Green, Crawley, but decided some months ago to move in with her partner. Ms Gray had been with her partner for a year and his child also lived in the hostel.

Thirteen people fled the building and police said the arson attack could have taken more lives.