Student suffering with insomnia died after taking heroin
AN OXFORD University student with a dissociative personality disorder died after taking heroin in an attempt at self-medication, an inquest heard yesterday.
Iwan Caudy, 20, was found struggling to breathe by his grandmother at her home in Bridgend on May 17 last year and a syringe was later found in his hand.
The emergency services were called and he was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
Mr Caudy was taking a year out from his chemistry degree after suffering from mental health issues and chronic insomnia which led him to buying illicit drugs over the internet.
An inquest at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court yesterday heard he had jumped out of a window in the weeks before his death, causing injuries to his ribs, head and thigh.
The night before Mr Caudy’s death, he had been spending time with his mother, Tania, and aunt, Martine, at the North Cornelly home of his grandparents, Elizabeth and Colin Weir.
In a witness statement read out to the court, Elizabeth Weir said he had been helping his mother with a maths problem and he seemed in good spirits.
The next day, she went to wake her grandson at around 8.40am but discovered him slumped over. His skin was discoloured, and he was “making a sound like he was trying to breathe”.
Mrs Weir called her husband, who put Mr Caudy in the recovery position, while she called the ambulance and her two daughters.
Mr Caudy was taken to hospital where attempts were made to resuscitate him but he was declared dead at 11.13am.
In another statement read to the court, Colin Weir spoke about his grandson’s mental health issues, described him “inventing characters” as a coping mechanism and had recently been seeing a private psychiatrist.
He added: “He had so much to offer the world and it was such a waste for him to die. He did so much for so many people and he didn’t get the help he needed.”
Mr Caudy’s aunt, Maxine Howell, said she was aware of her nephew’s mental health issues, and said he would self-medicate to sleep after voices in his head caused insomnia.
She said: “He was such a lovely boy and he wanted to help people. He loved people more than he loved himself. If he had help he wouldn’t have taken illegal drugs.”
When police attended Mr and Mrs Weir’s house, they found a laptop bag containing drug paraphernalia and later found a foil package containing 3.12g of heroin of 60% purity, a grip seal bag containing 26g of ketamine and a syringe containing solvents, including diamorphine.
Psychiatrist Alistair Clarke-Walter made a statement in which he claimed Mr Caudy showed “classic signs” of psychosis and severe depression which expressed itself in “fragments of his character” and “personalities in himself”.
He said Mr Caudy suffered a breakdown in January 2020 after experiencing multiple voices in his head, and would misuse substances in order to treat sleep deprivation and chronic insomnia.
Following Mr Caudy’s death, a post-mortem examination and toxicological analysis was carried out which revealed a number of drugs including heroin, ketamine, morphine, paracetamol and ethanol among others in his system.
The official cause of death was given as morphine (heroin) toxicity.
Coroner Rachel Knight told the inquest she would be recording a drug-related death conclusion.
She added: “Iwan Caudy, aged 20, was found unconscious at his grandparents’ address in North Cornelly on May 17, 2020. He was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital and despite extensive efforts he could not be resuscitated.
“He had taken a fatal quantity of heroin but there is no evidence he intended to take an overdose that night.”