A troubled 23-year-old died after accidentally overdosing on a ‘concoction of drugs’, an inquest has ruled.
Lewis Bart Dyer, from Stalybridge, was found unresponsive in his uncle’s flat in July 2021 after visiting his mum the evening before and allegedly being ‘attacked’.
His tragic death came three months after he tried to take his own life — but that event was one which inspired him to take steps to look after his mental health and quit drug-taking.
Sadly, though, Lewis started using illicit substances around a month after that moment, and died a matter of weeks later.
Manchester South Coroners Court heard that Lewis was a ‘typical’ boy, being raised by his grandparents.
Grandfather Mr Smith said: “He came to live with us when he was eight. He was a typical young man. If he did owt wrong, he accepted it.
“He was not cheeky as such. He left school at 16 and 17.
“My wife and I did not know he was into drugs. We knew he was on wacky baccy, but not anything heavy.”
Towards the end of Lewis’ tragically short life, he tried to take his own life — but was admitted to hospital and caused him to ‘re-engage’ with mental health services, having been diagnosed with psychosis and depression.
He also met a girl and entered into a relationship, the court heard.
However, the day before his death, Lewis was involved in an ‘altercation’ with her and her new partner, which caused him to visit his mother.
At the time, she was living in the Mount Guesthouse in Audenshaw.
On the evening of July 5, 2021, at 9:15pm, Lewis left his mum to walk back to his uncle’s flat in Stalybridge.
With the journey being an hour, his uncle, Sean Froggart, became concerned when Lewis had not returned home by around 10:30pm.
He then phoned Lewis’ mum.
Eventually, between 11pm and half past midnight on July 6, Lewis knocked on his uncle’s door, a statement from the latter said in court.
Mr Froggart said Lewis ‘had blood on his right hand and on his face’, which Lewis attributed to being mugged at knifepoint.
Lewis then came inside the flat, with his uncle returning to bed.
At 1am, Mr Froggart checked on Lewis, who was sitting in a chair in the living room. Lewis was mumbling something, coroner Christopher Murray heard.
The uncle then returned to bed, and woke up at 3pm on the afternoon of July 6 to find Lewis was not breathing.
He called 999, and sadly, paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
A post-mortem report ruled the primary cause of his death was aspiration pneumonia, caused by multiple drug ingestion.
Recording a verdict of misadventure, the coroner said: “It would appear to me that he has taken a concoction of drugs not with the intention of losing his life.”
Mr Murray added: “But he has lost his life [caused by] the depressive effect [of drugs] on his respiratory system.”
