MDMA overdose victim Alex Ross-King’s boyfriend pays tribute

The high school sweethearts had just broken up when Alex made a fatal decision. The devastating impact is still being felt almost a year on.

They were high school sweethearts and despite having just broken up, Alex Ross-King and her teen love Mackenzie were still very close.

So tight was their friendship Ms Ross-King and Mackenzie, socialised together.

Mackenzie, who asked for his surname not to be used, was with Ms Ross-King the day the 19-year-old overdosed on MDMA at the FOMO music festival in January.

More than 10 months on, he is still struggling with the loss of “my best friend, my lover, my hater”.

“It has been a hard time, but I do know something has to change so this doesn’t happen to another young person, and their family,” Mackenzie told The Ripple Effect, a special report by NewsCorp Australia on the use and impact of MDMA and other party pills.

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Alex Ross-King and her high school sweetheart Mackenzie.

A day after she died, Mackenzie wrote a letter Alex. He has not spoken publicly about her passing since.

“Al, my friend, my best friend, my lover and my hater! You, gorgeous, made my world go round and not having you by my side for the rest of my life will be the hardest thing I will ever have to do. The small time I got to spend with you, I will never forget and this small amount of time we were together will be the one of the biggest highlights of my life. The impacts you made on me, both good and bad, I will cherish forever. You always, always told me, to stop being who other people want you to be and start being who you want to be. ‘Don’t want to do things for me or anyone else, want to do things for yourself’. I always kinda struggled to do that, so now if I can promise you one thing, it’s that I’m going to do exactly that. I’ll try my hardest to keep making you proud and even on my worst of days I know you’ll be guiding me in the right direction. Al, I love and miss you more than life itself. I hope you’re having the time of your life up there! I’ll see you soon enough I’m sure of it!!”

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Alex’s heartbroken mother Jennie-Ross King. Sam Ruttyn

Alex Ross-King, 19, died of an MDMA overdose after attending the FOMO music festival in January.

Ms Ross-King’s mother Jennie told The Ripple Effect many of her daughter’s young friends are still hurting.

She admits they are “not doing too well”.

FINAL CALL

It was on a hot and humid day on January 12 this year when Alex arrived at the FOMO music festival in Parramatta. She had already taken three-quarters of a MDMA tablet on the party bus she and her friends travelled on from their Central Coast home.

When she arrived she called her mum and reassured her she was safe.

“I love you,” Alex said on the phone to her mother.

“I love you too,” Jennie replied.

They were the last words mother and daughter said to each other.

Alex took two more pills before going into the festival to avoid being caught.

As the mercury climbed to 35 degrees, Alex began to overheat.

From the hospital, Alex’s friend called Jennie. He was frantic. “I was calming him down but I was still oblivious to how serious the situation was,” Jennie adds.

She and her partner Andrew got into their car and started driving toward Westmead Hospital.

“We were less than five minutes in and (the friend) called again,” Jennie says.

“I said I need to speak to a doctor, put a doctor on. Then the doctor came on asked me to pull over: ‘It was important I was safe’. I got a bit frustrated, I said: ‘Tell me now’ and he said he wouldn’t until I pulled over.

“When I did, he told me Alex had gone into cardiac arrest, it made no sense, I don’t know what was said after that.”

Read more on from The Ripple Effect here

Originally published as MDMA overdose victim Alex Ross-King’s boyfriend pays tribute