Mystery surrounds the last days of drowning victim’s life

Bullies stopped Cory Pearson learning to swim. Sixteen years later he was found drowned in Wellington Harbour.

More than a year after his death, his tragic life has been described in a coroner’s report.

It paints a picture of a loner: a 26-year-old gamer living a life tainted with depression and bullying, and years when he was a ‘‘very grey’’ schoolboy whom few people even noticed.

But last night, his mother, Linda McGuinness, also remembered a kind-hearted son, missed by many, whose ashes will one day be scattered in the Tararua Range.

McGuinness said Pearson, who had five sisters, was well thought of, and had been on the verge of getting a job in IT. ‘‘I want him back. His sisters want him back . . . it’s awful, and it’s not done yet.’’

Dealing with her son’s death had been taxing both emotionally and financially, the retiree said.

She called for more safety measures around the Wellington waterfront, including buoys, ropes attached to the wharves, and more surveillance cameras.

The inquest report by coroner Carla na Nagara could not say how Pearson ended up in the water by Queens Wharf on the night of September 26 or the following morning in 2016.

His body had a ‘‘very high level’’ of acetone present at the time of his death. That was possibly due to uncontrolled diabetes, prolonged fasting, exercise or hypothermia, the coroner said.

McGuinness said it was more likely Pearson’s diabetes had triggered the drowning, rather than his being pushed.

In the report, McGuinness described her son as a ‘‘private’’ person, who loved computers and never asked for help.

It was only after his death that she learnt he was asked to leave his flat. This was because he had kicked a hole in a door after an argument with a woman, the coroner’s report said.

He packed his things, but never left. McGuinness said her son expected things to be offered to him, and would have had nowhere to go.

He was not a confident swimmer and had lessons until he was 10, but stopped because he was bullied for being ‘‘chubby’’ and ‘‘pale’’, she said.

The report noted he would have struggled to stay afloat in the water, especially being fully clothed.

Pearson was ‘‘a very grey person at school’’, McGuinness told the inquest, meaning ‘‘no-one would really have noticed that he was there’’. He was diagnosed with depression at the age of 20.

But, despite his living situation, his history of suicidal thoughts and tendency to not ask for help, na Nagara said, there was insufficient evidence to suggest he ‘‘intentionally ended his life’’, because he appeared ‘‘normal’’ before his death.

Police found no evidence Pearson had tripped or fallen into the water.

For his birthday in August, he asked his mother for food. He had $232.13 in his bank account at the time of his death. The money issued to his account on September 20 was from a Work and Income benefit.

There was no money spent on food in the days before his death, which was unusual, according to his previous bank transactions.

‘‘Despite their investigations, police were unable to ascertain Cory’s movements in the last days of his life,’’ na Nagara said.