A man found dead in a canal following a three-week search fell into the water 'unintentionally', a coroner has concluded. Peter Curphey's body was pulled from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan on April 11 last year.
An inquest at Bolton Coroners' Court heard the 44-year-old drowned after taking a 'significant quantity of drugs'.
Delivering his findings at the conclusion of the inquest today (Wednesday), senior coroner Timothy Brennand ruled Mr Curphey did not intend to enter the water.
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Mr Curphey, who had a history of mental health problems and substance abuse, was discharged from a mental health unit months earlier.
He was admitted to Atherleigh Park mental health hospital in Leigh in December 2021 after his family became concerned about his 'violent and unpredictable' behaviour. While at the hospital, he was diagnosed with a mental and behavioural disorder, believed to have been caused by his 'prolonged' drug use.
After refusing to return from a period of leave the following month, Mr Curphey was discharged from the facility. Mr Curphey's mother, Deborah Mercer, said she believed her son needed to be placed in a secure unit as he was 'profoundly unwell'.
However, she added that he was ‘good at masking his condition’ when talking to clinicians. In February of last year, Mr Curphey attended the A&E department at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan, where he reported feeling suicidal and owing money to drug dealers.
He asked to be sectioned but the decision was taken to not admit him to hospital, the inquest heard.
Mr Curphey was last seen alive on March 17 when CCTV from a car garage in Challenge Way showed him walking in a ‘zombie-like state’ in the direction of the canal where he was found. He was reported missing by loved ones on March 19 after he failed to appear for his 44th birthday the previous day.
Following a police search, a member of the public found Mr Curphey's body 'face down' in the canal, near a towpath off Woodhouse Lane, on the afternoon of April 11.
Pathologist Dr David Barker gave Mr Curphey’s cause of death as ‘drowning due to the combined effect of drugs’.
Toxicology tests revealed the presence of cannabis, cocaine, morphine and zopiclone in Mr Curphey’s system, but all were at a level indicative of recreational misuse. Toxicologist Julie Evans said the combined effect of the drugs could have caused Mr Curphey to become ‘confused’ and would have impacted his balance and ability to swim.
Delivering a narrative conclusion, Mr Brennand said: "Peter Curphey died as the consequence of drowning, having fallen into a canal in circumstances where the precise location and means in which he fell into the water cannot be established, but on balance were not intentional, and arose in the context of him being under the influence of his self-induced intoxication at the time of his death."
The coroner ruled that there had been 'a number of sub-optimal elements' to Mr Curphey's care in the time period between his discharge from Atherleigh Park and his death, including a lack of information sharing following his A&E visit.
He said that while they created a 'missed opportunity to identify and appreciate the nature or extent of any deterioration' in Mr Curphey, it was unlikely that they would have prevented his death.
Mr Brennand paid tribute to Ms Mercer for her 'unconditional love, support and assistance' towards Mr Curphey and her 'remarkable efforts' to try and help her son, who he described as 'a potential accident waiting to happen'.
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