A Zimbabwean nurse has been found dead in his home in the UK in a case which has left a coroner admitting he is stumped by the tragedy.
Stephen Chidawa was found by his wife unresponsive in bed
at their home in Leeds at around noon on October 21 last year. The 45-year-old
had finished a nightshift and had gone to bed that morning.
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, a post mortem revealed he had a “profound and fatal” level
of alcohol in his system – the equivalent to being five times over the
drink-drive limit.
However, an inquest into his death held at Wakefield
Coroner’s Court this week heard evidence from his wife and a work colleague,
who both said he showed no signs of being in drink that day and there were no
empty bottles in the house. Stacy Chidawa, whom he was married to for 15 years,
said he enjoyed a social drink but remains adamant he was not drinking secretly
and knew instantly when he was drunk.
In addition, senior coroner Kevin McLoughlin said in such
deaths, attending paramedics submit notes concerning the detection of alcohol
on a patient, but none were received.
Recording an open verdict, he said: “It would be easier to
fathom if you found lots of empty alcohol bottles but there was nothing. I
would expect paramedics to say there was a profound smell of alcohol from him
but there was no mention of it.
"We are left with a mystery. It is one of the highest
levels I have ever seen and I must confess, I’m stumped. "The
circumstances are so bizarre. It’s unlikely he was hiding a secret habit. I’m
sufficiently puzzled as to where he could get such a quantity of alcohol.”
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