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Warlock
- May 24, 2020
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Man walked into Stroud Police Station and said he had poisoned himself, inquest hears โ Gloucestershire News Service
A 24 year old Stroud man walked into the town's police station and told an officer he had just taken a quantity of toxic sodium nitrite, an inquest heard today (Nov 19).
A 24 year old Stroud man walked into the town's police station and told an officer he had just taken a quantity of toxic sodium nitrite, an inquest heard today (Nov 19).
Jake Byrne, formerly Clegg, of Chapel Street, Stroud, was rushed to hospital but died later the same day, 17th June, the Gloucester inquest was told.
Assistant Gloucestershire Coroner Roland Wooderson ruled that Mr Byrne's death was due to suicide.
The inquest heard a statement from Pc Chris Horwood-Jones saying that on 17th June he was on duty in Sroud when he was told of the incident and asked to investigate.
"A male who said he was Jake Byrne had entered Stroud Police Station and said he had drunk a quanity of sodium nitrite," said the officer.
"I went to Mr Byrne's home in Chapel Street and found a driving licence there in the name of Jake Clegg. I checked the footage on a colleague's body worn camera and recognised the man who gave his name as Mr Byrne as the same man shown on the driving licence."
The inquest was told Mr Byrne was born Clegg but changed his name.
The officer also found an empty package labelled sodium nitrite.
The coroner said sodium nitrite is used as a preservative and for curing meat. Many sodium nitrite poisonings have been accidental because it resembles common salt, he said. Industrially it can be used as a metal corrosion inhibutor.
"It is a lethal inorganic salt which can be bought on the internet where it is described as useful for committing suicide," the coroner added.
A post mortem report confirmed that Mr Byrne died from sodium nitrite toxicity.
Dr Alastair Smith of Locking Hill Surgery, Stroud, stated that in March 2019 Mr Byrne was arrested on suspicion of carrying a knife in public and police voiced their concern at that time about the state of his mental health.
He subsequently engaged with the local mental health team and there were concerns in October last year about his symptoms of depression and anxiety.
In November last year Mr Byrne saw his GP and gave a history of self harming by cutting himself but said he had not done that for several months.
At the time of that consultation there was no evidence of Mr Byrne having any 'disordered thinking' and he appeared casual and relaxed, the doctor stated.
On 4th Dec last year the practice received a phone calll from the local 'Let's Talk' service saying Mr Byrne had attended expressing sujicidal thoughts. He was later admitted to hospital after taking an overdose of medication with alcohol. But the medical services had not had any
further dealings with him since then.
The coroner said that, on the balance of probabilities, the correct conclusion was that Mr Byrne had taken his own life.