Conspiracy theorist had taken cocktail of drugs

A conspiracy theorist from Canterbury died after taking a combination of prescription drugs while suffering with pneumonia, a coroner has ruled. Addict Max Spiers, 39, had taken several tablets of the Turkish equivalent of anti- anxiety drug Xanax before he stopped breathing in Poland in July 2016. Mystery had surrounded the circumstances of his death, fuelled by a text he sent his mother in the days before, saying: “Your boy’s in trouble. If anything happens, investigate.” But an inquest at Sandwich coroners’ court was told his death had been caused by widespread pneumonia and “intoxication with drugs”. The three-day hearing, which started on Monday, was told Mr Spiers was a journalist “dealing with the topics of conspiracy theories and paranormal phenomena”.

He had travelled to Poland to take part in a conspiracy theorist conference and was staying at the house of a woman called Monika Duval, who he began a relationship with.

In June 2016 they visited Cyprus for a holiday, and while there Miss Duval bought “eight to 10” boxes of a Xanax equivalent for Mr Spiers, who was addicted to crack cocaine and heroin. The drugs, bought for about £315 without need for a prescription, were brought back to Poland, where Mr Spiers took about 10 tablets at Miss Duval’s home.

She later found him asleep and could tell “something was not right with him”.

She called an ambulance and attempted to resuscitate him.

A dark brown liquid started to appear from his mouth as she was trying to revive him.

An ambulance arrived 10 to 15 minutes after the call and they also tried to save his life but found it was a “negative result” and said nothing more could be done.

Miss Duval urged paramedics to carry on trying and tried herself.

But they refused and called the police because of her “strange behaviour” and because of the unclear nature of the death of the young man. Pathologist Dr Matthias Koslouski carried out a post-mortem examination and ruled the cause of Mr Spiers death as complications caused by “pneumonia and intoxication by drugs”. Tests showed Mr Spiers had levels of Xanax at twice the therapeutic dose and “potentially fatal” levels of oxycodone, an opioid, in his body. Polish authorities said his death “was caused by natural causes” and “excluded participation of further persons,” the inquest heard. Coroner Chris Sutton-maddocks said he agreed with the cause of death given by the pathologist. But he was heavily critical of the police in Poland following Mr Spiers’ death. Officers attended the scene but they did not examine the body, take the names of the people at the scene or even interview them, he said. “This was by any means a suspicious death,” he added.

“It needed a proper investigation.

“Had there been any criminal involvement in this death then valuable time would have been lost and evidence contaminated. “If this had happened in Kent the first question officers should ask is what happened here.

“Names and addresses would have been taken, the body should have been closely examined.”

A report said officers arrived at 6.30pm but they were due to go off-duty at 7pm.

It added this could have resulted in their “haste”.

Speaking after the inquest, Mr Spiers’ mother, Vanessa Bates, said: “They were not interested in the manner he died.

“They did absolutely nothing. The mystery that was created has added to my pain.

“It was horrific to think he was left on a mattress with fluid and there was no idea where it had come from.” She issued a warning to people thinking of taking Xanax or buying it over the internet, saying: “It worries me deeply. Please don’t.” She added: “I do take closure from this hearing.

“The coroner has been very thorough.”

‘One or more police officers did not inspect the body carefully. They did not inform the public prosecutor on duty’