Death of alcoholic, 26, will remain ‘a mystery’ (From The Bolton News)

Death of alcoholic, 26, will remain ‘a mystery’

4:40pm Sunday 14th February 2010 in

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THREE incidents could have killed a man who suffered fatal head injuries, an inquest heard.

Coroner Peter Watson recorded an open verdict at the inquest of Dion Etchells and said his death will “remain a mystery”. The court heard how 26-year-old alcoholic Mr Etchells had fallen in the street and hit his head, then later fell again during a drunken fight with a friend, Daniel Walker.

He was then taken to hospital but discharged himself the following day and then went missing for 18 hours, during which time he could have fallen again, the hearing was told. That was on September 12, 2008, and Mr Etchells died six days later.

The inquest was told that Mr Etchells, from Little Hulton, could drink a litre of vodka a day. He was found lying on the ground in Carrfield Avenue on September 12 and Donna Pickering tried to help him. She said: “I tried but he was a dead weight. He fell back slowly and I think his head hit the kerb.”

Later that evening, he went to the home of his half brother, Julian Adderley, with Mr Walker. Mr Adderley’s partner, Lisa Glossop, asked them to leave because they were drunk and being aggressive.

She went upstairs to look out of the window and saw Mr Walker punch Mr Etchells in the face. She said: “I saw Daniel had punched Dion and next minute Dion was on the floor.” Miss Glossop said Mr Etchells did not want the help of the emergency services when they arrived.

Dr Daniel Du Plessis, a neuropathologist, said Mr Etchells’ injuries were consistent with him falling backwards and hitting his head which caused bleeding on the brain. He added: “It could have been caused by one incident or more than one.”

Home Office pathologist Charles Wilson also found that Mr Etchells had cirrhosis of the liver which could have contributed to his death.