Balderton man who just rekindled relationship with his sister died after taking mixture of drugs, rules Nottinghamshire coroner
A man who had just rekindled his relationship with his sister after they were separated as babies died after taking a mixture of drugs.
Dominic Howitt, 24, of Balderton, was found unconscious in Newark Cemetery on Sunday, July 4, 2021, having suffered a respiratory arrest after taking an accidental overdose.
An inquest into his death heard Mr Howitt was found unconscious by a member of the public next to an empty bottle of morphine, who then discovered his phone and called 999 and his sister Mikála Canavan.
An ambulance crew rushed to the cemetery and administered a drug to Mr Howitt to reverse the effects of the morphine, and he came around — but began to get agitated with the emergency workers.
Giving evidence, Detective Constable James McDonnell, of Newark CID, said it was clear Mr Howitt did not want the medical help but agreed to be taken to King's Mill Hospital.
But just a few hours later, against the advice of doctors who wanted him to stay, Mr Howitt decided to discharge himself and was taken back home to Balderton by taxi.
Coroner Gordon Glow said: "He was assessed by an experienced accident and emergency consultant at approximately 10pm that day and that doctor did not consider Mr Howitt was unwell in any way.
"His medical observations taken at 10.15pm were not concerning but the doctor advised he stay in hospital for a few more hours in case he deteriorated, but Mr Howitt refused and decided to leave.
"He was taken home by taxi but became unconscious in the back of the car. The police were called and an officer was able to rouse Mr Howitt who walked back to his flat and was provided help by the police officer, who unlocked the external door of the flats and the door to his flat on the second floor.
"Although it was open to the officer to call the ambulance, he did not consider Mr Howitt to be unwell.
"Mr Howitt did not ask for medical attention and would have been likely to refuse to return to hospital having only recently made the decision against advice."
Just after 9am on July 6, Mr Howitt was found dead inside his flat by his sister Mikála who had become worried after not being able to contact him.
Mr Clow said extensive post-mortem examinations were carried out, but that only toxicology could point to a medical cause of death as there was evidence a combination of drugs had been taken.
"Mr Howitt had taken a number of different drugs prior to his death, notably morphine, amitriptyline, pregabalin, and cannabis," he said.
"There was evidence of the use of cocaine and a benzodiazepine, but these were at concentrations where it was unlikely they caused or contributed to the death.
"Although Mr Howitt had a background of personality disorder and suicidal ideation, there is no evidence to suggest that his experience of acute mental health problems or suicidal thoughts were planned at the time of his death.
"There is no evidence to suggest he intended his own death."
He added Mr Howitt had bought the range of drugs, including the bottle of morphine, from a contact on July 4.
Mr Clow said there was no evidence to suggest Mr Howitt had taken further drugs in hospital despite him having heroin and cannabis on his person after his death.
He said: "He may have taken further prescription drugs as more were found in his flat, it is not possible to determine, however, whether he took further drugs which in combination with the other drugs he took on July 4 caused his death — or whether he died from the effects of that earlier drug misuse alone.
"It is clear from my findings that Mr Howitt died from taking, by his own choice, a number of different drugs which in combination caused his death."
Mr Howitt grew up in care and his sister Mikála was adopted as a child. He had epilepsy and cerebral palsy after being born with brain damage.
They met aged 16 and 18 but only became fully involved in each other's lives when Mr Howitt moved from Torquay to Balderton in 2019 to be closer to Mikála.
At the time of his death, Mikála said: "I am heartbroken and angry, two years with Dominic was just not enough. He moved close to me two years ago for a better life and I can't believe this has happened."
