‘Fantastic father’ suffered a drug-related death

A 30-year-old man from Lynn died a drug-related death after taking toxic levels of heroin and cocaine.

An inquest last week into the death of Lee Cahill, of Pleasant Court, heard he had taken the drugs while staying overnight at a friend’s home in North Lynn on January 22/23 this year.

He was found unresponsive in the early hours of the morning and his friend attempted CPR before paramedics arrived to try to save Lee’s life, but they were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.

A police investigation of the property in Hope Court found syringes and other evidence of drug use, the hearing heard.

Police arrested Mr Cahill’s friend on drug-related charges.

The court heard how Lee’s mother had died when he was only 12.

His sister, Danielle Cahill, said in her evidence to the inquest: “Lee was a kind, friendly man. Despite his problems, he was loved by many people.”

She said Lee struggled to deal with grief over his mother’s death and had tried to block things out.

She described him as a “fantastic father who loved his children very much”.

The inquest heard evidence that ruled out a deliberate drug overdose.

A post mortem found levels of heroin and cocaine in high enough quantities that “both would have been fatal independently”.

There was also evidence of other drugs and levels of alcohol consistent with social use.

The medical cause of death was given as heroin and cocaine toxicity, with a secondary cause of alcohol liver disease and pulmonary thromboembolism.

Coroner Jacqueline Lake recorded a conclusion of drug-related death.