A Christmas Eve party in Cork turned to tragedy after two men died from a lethal cocktail of drugs, which included methadone.
John Foley (33) of Rockview Terrace, Cork city, and John O’Donoghue (32) from Larchfield Lawn, Youghal, Co Cork, were among a group of people who attended a Christmas party at a bedsit in Cork city on December 24th, 2011, an inquest heard yesterday.
At the time the deaths made news headlines and there was speculation about heroin being involved.
However, at the inquest yesterday heroin was ruled out as a factor in the deaths of the two men.
Large amounts of alcohol and drugs were consumed at the party. One woman brought four bottles of methadone with her in a handbag, the inquest heard. It was believed heroin was taken at the party, as well as methadone, tablets and alcohol, but heroin was yesterday ruled out as a factor in the deaths.
Cork Coroner’s Court heard that on Christmas Day Mr Foley’s girlfriend, Paula Canty, woke to find him lying lifeless in bed beside her. “I turned him over and his face was purple. He was not breathing,” she said in a statement read out in court.
Ms Canty told gardaí Mr Foley had got sick after returning from the party and told her he had taken a full bottle of methadone.
The inquest heard Mr O’Donoghue, who was staying with Kathleen O’Sullivan in another flat in the same building, heard Ms Canty’s screams and they rushed to her assistance.
“Both Kathleen and John went to the flat, where they found he was not breathing and both gave CPR to him,” Det Garda Kevin O’Donnell told the inquest.
Mr Foley was pronounced dead just before 2.30pm.
Less than six hours later, Ms O’Sullivan woke at 8pm to find Mr O’Donoghue apparently lifeless in bed.
A toxicology screening found Mr Foley had methadone and a sedative drug in his blood at the time of his death. Morphine and cannabis was also detected in his urine but not in his blood. Dr Margaret Bolster, who carried out a postmortem, found Mr Foley’s death was due to methadone toxicity in association with ingestion of a high level of a sedative drug.
A toxicology screening found Mr O’Donoghue, a father of three, had methadone, two sedative drugs and a sleeping tablet in his blood at the time of death. Amphetamine was also present.
Dr Bolster said Mr O’Donoghue died of brain damage associated with pneumonia following a prolonged heart attack due to methadone, two sedative drugs and a sleeping tablet.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane recorded verdicts of death by misadventure in both cases.
The coroner told Mr O’Donoghue’s mother, Bridget O’Donoghue,her son would have fallen asleep and would not have suffered.
Speaking outside the court after the inquest, Ms O’Donoghue “He didn’t like trouble. He was a peacemaker. If he could do a favour for anyone he would do it. We miss him an awful lot.” Her son had been prescribed a sedative medication and a sleeping tablet.His sister, Denise Brown, described her brother as a “kind person”.