Friends tried to save a man who has been described as "larger than life" after he was found unconscious at a party. Kier Jenkins had been at a house party in Merthyr Tydfil on Sunday, September 19, 2021 before he was found collapsed in the early hours of Monday morning.
An inquest into his death at Pontypridd Coroner's Court on Thursday, November 3, heard how Kier had been out drinking on the Saturday and Sunday before his death. Reading witness statements provided to the court, Coroner Mr David Regan described how the 24-year-old from Troedrhiw, Merthyr Tydfil, had been drinking for a period of 36 hours before his death.
Paying tribute to their brother following the hearing Kier's sisters Mali and Shantay Jenkins and their cousin Angharad Jenkins, described how Kier was "their world" and told how he was "larger than life". Paying tribute to their beloved brother, they said: "He loved all our children and he would do anything for anyone. He had done so much for charity, he raised money for Mind, he was the type of person who would give you all he had left."
They continued: "He had turned his life around, he was working as a doorman. He was a good person he would help anyone. He has left a huge hole in our hearts, and all his friends, he was such a big person, he was so well known, once you had met him you wouldn't forget him. He was the life and soul of the party, he was too big for this world."
The inquest heard how Kier had gone out with a friend in Swansea on Saturday before attending a house party in Merthyr Tydfil on Sunday. Evidence from those present at the party described how Kier and others there had been playing drinking games and using cocaine.
One witness statement described how Kier had drunk three pints of neat gin before he started to feel unwell. He and another man at the party were both taken into the kitchen of the house where they were offered water and placed into the recovery position. They were said to have fallen asleep in the kitchen.
Throughout the course of the evening, one witness described how they had checked on the two men who were both snoring and breathing but at one point they realised that Kier had stopped snoring. The witness described how they checked Kier's pupils and did not see a response and could not see him breathing so called 999 at 4.32am.
The same person was coached by the 999 operator to perform CPR on Kier as two others searched for a defibrillator nearby until paramedics came. Kier was pronounced dead at the scene and paramedics continued to work on the other male.
Reading evidence from a pathologist to the court, Mr Regan described how Kier had 510 milligrams per decilitre of ethanol in his system which is above the fatal level. Mr Regan told the inquest of toxicologist results that found ketamine and cocaine present in his system at the time of his death and told how the combination of ethanol and cocaine created a metabolite called cocaethylene which was also found in his blood. Cocaethylene is a toxic metabolite that can trigger cardiac arrests.
Based on evidence provided by a pathologist and toxicologist, Mr Regan recorded a conclusion of drug and alcohol related death. He found no evidence that Kier intended to take his own life.
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