Mystery surrounds death of Burnley man (24)

Eric Hutchinson (24) was found unresponsive by his girlfriend Danielle Mason at their home in Reed Street, Burnley Wood, on July 31st last year.

An inquest at Burnley Coroner’s Court heard evidence in a statement by Miss Mason, which said Mr Hutchinson had returned home the night before swaying and mumbling.He told his girlfriend he’d taken some cannabis and drank a small amount of Fosters lager, but was “exceptionally drowsy”.

The inquest was told “he was all over the place and couldn’t walk straight.” The couple went to bed around midnight but Miss Mason found him unresponsive at 7-30 a.m. the next day.

However, a post-mortem examination conducted by pathologist Dr Abdul Al-Dawoud could not find a cause of death. He said: “There was a small amount of cannabis in the urine, but not in the blood, which suggests it was taken a fair amount of time before death.

“There was also a small amount of alcohol, which was well below the drink-drive limit. There is no reason why either of these substances could have contributed to his death, and there was no trauma to the body found.

“It is a mystery and a very difficult case. There is such a thing as sudden cardiac death in adults, but this would not normally be associated with drowsiness beforehand. There was also no evidence of pneumonia or any other natural cause.”

East Lancashire Coroner Mr Richard Taylor recorded a verdict of unascertained natural causes.