Inquest returns misadventure verdict to death of a Loscoe man at a Ripley club
breaking news
The death of a nightclub reveller shortly after a dancefloor scuffle was not caused by a criminal act, a coroner has ruled.
James Gaunt, 48, of The Gardens was on a night out at the Crib Bar on Church Street, Ripley, on October 14, 2011 when at around 10.40pm he entered into a dispute with another reveller.
Factory worker Mr Gaunt was taken to an outside smoking area following a short altercation on the dancefloor with another man, Darren Matheson, of Wright Street, Codnor, who was taken to the bar area.
Minutes later he suffered a heart failure.
Mr Gaunt was taken to King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, where he was pronounced dead.
A post mortem examination on him revealed that an increase in adrenaline, caused by the scuffle, had ultimately led to his death as he suffered from an underlying heart condition.
But in returning a verdict of misadventure, Her Majesty’s Coroner doctor Robert Hunter ruled out the possibility of unlawful killing - stating that Mr Matheson could not be proved to be the clear ‘agressor’ in the confrontation.
In his summing up he said: “Having assessed all the evidence from all the witnesses and reviewed the CCTV footage, I have a considerable amount of doubt as to who attacked who first - so I cannot be sure beyond all reasonable doubt.
it is for this reason I cannot return a verdict of unlawful killing.”
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Friday 24 May 2013
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