Man’s body was found in park

A MAN with an alcohol problem was found hanged in Cardiff’s Bute Park by two women sunbathing, an inquest heard.

Jason Cartwright, 45, was pronounced dead at the city centre park on August 15 after his body was found in bushes.

An inquest at Cardiff Coroners’ Court heard Mr Cartwright, who lived in Aberdare, was last seen by his father Michael four days before his death when he viewed a flat.

A statement was read out from Laura Dixon, who discovered Mr Cartwright’s body in Bute Park on August 15, while with her friend Jennifer Annoh.

She said: “I was in Cardiff with my friend and the weather was nice so we went to Bute Park. The sun went in so we moved further up towards the castle. We were lying down on our stomachs and at approximately 6.45pm I turned on my side I noticed a pair of shoes and legs sticking out of a tree. I pointed it out to my friend and sat up to get a better look when I saw the back of a male’s head.”

The emergency services were called and paramedics attended but the man was pronounced dead.

A bank card was found in the man’s wallet along with a Samsung mobile phone which had run out of battery. A police check later confirmed it was Mr Cartwright.

The last text message sent from the deceased’s phone was to his former partner Sarah Reedman on August 11 which read: “Babe, I love you.”

Mr Cartwright did not receive any more calls or texts after August 13 and the last trace of his movements was found via the use of his bank card at the Tesco Express cash machine in St Mary Street, Cardiff, but he was unable to take out any money due to being substantially overdrawn.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of Mr Cartwright’s death as pressure on the neck consistent with hanging.

A statement from Mr Cartwright’s GP said the deceased had a “harmful relationship” with alcohol and had also suffered from mental health issues.

A toxicology report found there was no alcohol or drugs in Mr Cartwright’s system at the time of his death.

In his concluding remarks, coroner Phillip Spinney said: “I have to be sure Mr Cartwright took his own life and it was his intention to take his own life and that has to be proved with evidence. On the basis of the evidence I have seen, heard and read, I am not satisfied to the extent I am sure Mr Cartwright intended to take his own life.”

Mr Spinney recorded a narrative conclusion that Mr Cartwright died from the effects of hanging in circumstances in which his intentions are not clear.