TASH TRAGEDY
Drunken jokers thought dying chum was sleeping
A GROUP of boozed-up mates drew a moustache on a dying pal’s face because they thought he was just asleep.
Mark Butler had passed out after drinking for several hours and taking cocaine, an inquest heard.
But as he lay collapsed on a bed, Luke Derriman, Jonathan McPhail and another man known as Steve drew a moustache with marker pen on his face for a joke.
It was only later that they realised Mr Butler, 43, was not breathing.
They pulled him off the bed and desperately attempted CPR before calling for paramedics, who pronounced him dead.
By the time police arrived at Mr Derriman’s house in Slough, Berks, Steve, who has never been traced, had left because he was “too distraught”.
A Reading inquest heard Mr Butler had a history of drink problems and was diagnosed with alcohol dependency syndrome in 2013, as well as suffering from anxiety and depression.
He was drinking around four to five cans of high strength lager a day, the hearing was told.
Toxicology tests revealed he had recreational levels of cocaine in his body.
Dr Sue Paterson said that the levels of alcohol in his body were enough to cause him to go into a coma, although they would not be fatal.
The combination of cocaine and alcohol could have caused acute heart failure.
A post-mortem found Mr Butler had died as a result of cocaine and alcohol toxicity.
Recording his death as drug and alcoholrelated, assistant coroner Alison McCormick said: “He became unresponsive at the home.
“The other three men thought he was asleep and as a joke they drew a moustache on his face.
“When they realised he was unconscious they called an ambulance.”