Hanged Prodigy star had been drinking and taking cocaine
PRODIGY frontman Keith Flint had drunk alcohol and taken cocaine and codeine before his death, an inquest heard yesterday.
The Firestarter singer was found hanged at his £ 1.5million home in March, leaving fans around the world devastated.
Tests have shown he had a number of substances in his system – although how much and whether they may have impaired his thinking was not divulged at the inquest. Flint had spoken of kicking drugs and alcohol after meeting Japanese wife Mayumi.
After his death at the age of 49 it emerged the couple had split up and their four-bedroom Tudor mansion in Essex which he ‘loved’ had recently gone on the market.
Essex senior coroner Caroline BeasleyMurray yesterday said there was insufficient evidence to show he had committed suicide, saying: ‘To record that I would have to have found that, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Flint formed the idea and took a deliberate action, knowing it would result in his death.’
She also found insufficient evidence to conclude his death was the result of an accident, for example if he had been ‘larking around and it all went horribly wrong’.
Mrs Beasley-Murray added: ‘We will never know what was going on in his mind on that date, so that’s why I’m going to record an open conclusion.’
No witnesses were called to give evidence at the brief hearing in Chelmsford, which was not attended by Flint’s family, band members or manager. Mrs Beasley- Murray expressed her sympathy to them, adding: ‘He was muchloved by so many fans.’
Friends once feared the singer – labelled the ‘scariest man in music’ in the 1990s because of his mohawk hairstyle and manic dancing – would not make it past 40 because of his drug habit.
He admitted taking ‘coke, weed, drinking a lot’ before moving on to prescription drugs, which he said he downed ‘until I passed out’.
‘Coke, weed and drinking a lot’
More recently he had taken up running and horse riding around the period property near Felsted where he was found unresponsive on March 4 after concerns were raised about his welfare.
Paramedics tried to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead there shortly afterwards.
Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances and no one else was involved, the inquest heard yesterday.
After his death, band founder Liam Howlett wrote online: ‘ I’m shell shocked, angry, confused and heartbroken... rip brother.’
The band released their seventh consecutive number one album, No Tourists, in November and had recently returned from a tour of Australia.