Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Dad’s MDMA death not ruled suicide
A much-loved dad-of-two who died after overdosing on MDMA will be remembered as a fun-loving man who was “full of life”.
Daniel Hill - who worked as a vehicle techician at Motorline Audi in Canterbury - was suffering with stress and anxiety when he went into cardiac arrest in his car in Herne Bay in July this year.
Desperate efforts were made by emergency crews to revive him before he was transferred to the QEQM Hospital in Margate.
But the Oakdale Road resident died later that day on July 18.
Last week, an inquest at Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone ruled his death was not suicide.
Loved ones have since paid tribute to the 47-year-old.
His sister, Michaela Hill, said: “He was good fun and liked to have a laugh with his work colleagues and friends.
“He was sensitive and very loving; it was almost an unspoken love we had at times.
“Sometimes we wouldn’t see each other for ages but we knew each other were there.”
She told how Mr Hill enjoyed outdoor activities, including camping, surfing and fishing.
“He had a massive love of music and knew everything there was to know about all genres,” she added. “He used to DJ with his mate - usually in Bristol.”
Mr Hill’s partner, Sara Scriven, added: “He was just amazingly full of life and was the most adventurous person I ever met.
“We were perfect adventure buddies, and we had so much fun and wild times.
“It was incredible what we did in what was a short period of time.”
In the months before his death, Mr Hill had been signed off work because of anxiety and had contacted his GP because of issues with headaches and stress.
Assistant coroner Sonia Hayes read a statement at the inquest from Ms Scriven, who he had been in a relationship with since November last year.
The couple were said to be “incredibly happy”, but Ms Scriven told how Mr Hill raised issues in January which were causing him concern and “was showing signs he was not coping very well”.
“From June, he began to lose some weight, and he was upset and insecure,” the court was told.
“He did start to suffer migraines and did seek advice from his doctor. He did have an outburst in front of friends on July 9 and he was very upset.
“Due to clear distress, Dan reached out to a therapist and had his first session on July 13.”
There was a further outburst the next day when a very upset Mr Hill acted out of character.
Ms Hayes said he shared posts on social media “which could be regarded as suicidal, and sent messages that suggested he wanted to kill himself ”.
Mr Hill had been having counselling and contacted a mental health therapist, who he had an appointment with the day before his death.
Police received a call on the morning of July 18 from a colleague reporting concern for Mr Hill after being sent texts suggesting he was going to take his own life, with pictures of ecstasy pills.
That day, emergency crews were called to a lay-by in Brook Lane, Herne Bay, where Mr Hill had been seen in his car.
They performed CPR for about 40 minutes after Mr Hill suffered a cardiac arrest, but he died after being taken to Margate’s QEQM Hospital.
Investigators found there were no suspicious circumstances.
The assistant coroner returned a conclusion of death by misadventure, rather than suicide.
“I am satisfied this may have been impulsive,” she said. “While I am satisfied he knew this was a dangerous thing to do, I am not satisfied he intended to take his life.”
Born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, he was dad to two “beautiful” girls and had lived in Birchington and Wales.
He studied mechanics at Canterbury College.