Burnley family's grief of son's death at home

The Coroner for East Lancashire paid his condolences to the family of a young Burnley man after concluding that he had taken his own life.
Burnley Magistrates' CourtBurnley Magistrates' Court
Burnley Magistrates' Court

Mr David Anthony Forrester (34) was discovered dead at his home in Plumbe Street in the early hours of November 7th last year, an inquest at Burnley Coroner's Court has heard.

Coroner Mr Richard Taylor apologised to the family of Mr Forrester that he had been unable to secure the attendance at the hearing of Kirsty Ryan, the partner of Mr Forrester, who had discovered him at around 4-30am but did not inform his family until several hours later.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A police investigation found no suspicious circumstances and no evidence of third party involvement in Mr Forrester's death according to Det. Insp Tom Edmondson, of Burnley CID.

During the hearing, Mr Forrester's family posed a number of questions to the detective over the timeframe of Miss Ryan's movements to and from the house on the night of the death.

She had told police that she had been at the house earlier that night but could not find Mr Forrester because there were no lights on in the house due to there being no electricity. She claimed to have discovered the body of her partner, who had apparently hanged himself, when she returned a second time at 4-30am.

Det. Insp Edmondson said: "We are called to investigate reports of an unexplained death or suspicion of criminality. When I arrived at the house, following our uniformed officers, Kirsty Ryan was in the lounge. The method of death was apparent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Kirsty Ryan told me she had travelled to Padiham earlier in the night and then returned and found Mr Forrester. There were no signs of defensive injuries or trauma, and tablets were found at the scene."

A post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death to be hanging, and toxicology tests revealed therapeutic levels of methadone, diazepam and amphetamine in Mr Forrester's system.

Concluding that Mr Forrester had taken his own life, Mr Taylor said: "There is nothing to physically link anyone else to the death. Mr Forrester did a deliberate act. He was a young man who had misued drugs and led a fairly chaotic lifestyle.

"As a coroner, I can never answer the question 'why' or deal in 'what ifs'. Here is a case of a young man who has taken his own life in distressing circumstances, where it hasn't been properly reported to the family. I offer my sincere condolences."

Related topics: