Ipswich 34-year-old who had been clean of drugs for several months died after accidental overdose, Suffolk Coroner's Court rules

An Ipswich man who had a history of drug use, but had been clean for several months, died after an accidental overdose, Suffolk Coroner's Court has ruled.

Sean O'Brien, 34, was found dead in his girlfriend's bed on the afternoon of December 29, 2021, after his friend arrived to pick him up for work but could not wake him.

Despite the arrival of paramedics who tried to resuscitate Sean, he was pronounced dead at 2.20pm.

The court was told today that Sean's death was drug-related as a result of an accidental overdose.

Described by his father William as a 'happy-go-lucky lad', Sean had a history of drug use but had been clean for several months after completing a course with Turning Point, a substance misuse charity, in March 2021.

His friend Curtis Steward, who discovered Sean, also confirmed he believed he was 'now on the straight and narrow' and said when he saw him the night before he was his usual 'bubbly and happy' self.

Sean had been with friends and family on the evening of December 28 but then went to his girlfriend's home, whom he shared children with, to spend the night.

The court heard the pair went to bed at around 11pm and that Sean took a pill which he told his girlfriend, Gemma Jones, was to help him sleep.

Gemma said she was awoken at about 2am by Sean snoring loudly and saw he looked hot and sweaty, but that this was not out of the ordinary, and so she went to sleep in a different room.

At midday the next day Gemma could not wake Sean up so she started to get ready as she was planning to go out.

By 1.50pm, Sean was still not awake and when his friend Curtis arrived to collect him for work, Gemma told him he could go upstairs and wake him.

But Curtis found Sean unresponsive on the bed without a pulse and, after calling 999, he started CPR.

Paramedics were on the scene by 2.07pm and started resuscitation efforts, but by 2.20pm his death was confirmed.

Coroner Nigel Parsley told the court post-mortem examinations were unable to find a clear cause of death, but toxicology investigations discovered a mixture of three drugs in his system.

The drugs were all at a relatively low level, but when combined Mr Parsley said these would have caused a lowered respiratory rate.

He said it is highly possible that Sean took these drugs at a level he was used to taking prior to quitting but that, due to his tolerance reducing over the period of time he was clean, this was too much for him.

Finding no evidence of intention to end his own life, Mr Parsley ruled the death was drug-related as a result of an accidental overdose.

Sean's father William told the court he could not understand why his son went back to taking drugs.

He said: "I will never ever be able to fully come to terms with the loss of my first born son."

Mr Parsley thanked the family for their 'quiet dignity' throughout the inquest and passed on his condolences in this 'tragic' case.