Father died of cocaine intoxication a week before Christmas

A MAN found dead by his partner at their Waterford city home one week before Christmas died from intoxication due to cocaine use, an inquest heard yesterday.

David Cullen (26) had been living at Bracken Drive with his partner Natasha Mullen, along with their one-year-old son and seven-year-old stepdaughter.

Mr Cullen’s death, which at the time was the fifth sudden death of a young man in the city within one month, occurred as the deceased was alone at the house. Insp Pádraig Dunne, reading from Ms Mullen’s deposition yesterday, outlined how she put their son to bed at her mother’s house in Mount Sion Avenue on December 18th. Mr Cullen that night spent some time working.

The deceased texted Ms Cullen at 10.15pm and she rang his mobile phone and landline the next morning, but there was no reply. Ms Mullen went to work and then to Bracken Drive at lunchtime. She threw stones at the window when she could not get in. The door was locked, with a key in the lock inside. With a neighbour, Ms Mullen banged and shouted but there was no response.

The neighbour forced entry at the rear of the house and Mr Cullen was found slumped on the dining room floor with a yellowish colour to his face. Paramedics arrived and efforts to revive Mr Cullen were unsuccessful, the Coroner’s Court in Waterford city heard. Garda Kieran Scanlan said in evidence that he responded to a call at 3.25pm that afternoon and found Ms Mullen kneeling beside Mr Cullen, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

A quantity of cocaine was found in a plastic bag inside another bag behind a couch in Mr Cullen’s house, Garda Maurice Clifford, of Portlaw Garda station, told the court yesterday. Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis carried out a postmortem at Waterford Regional Hospital on December 20th. A quantity of cocaine was found in Mr Cullen’s blood and urine.

A jury of five men and four women found the cause of Mr Cullen’s death was due to cocaine intoxication.