1 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,920 There are countless factors that can lead to your death. 2 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:14,800 As senior coroner, I deal with nearly 4,500 fatalities a year. 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:18,880 LESLEY SHARP: The coroner can make 4 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,920 any inquiries necessary to find a cause of death. 5 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,800 The police act on behalf of the coroner. 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:26,800 If the coroner asks, then we do it. 7 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:28,280 We need to be alert to the fact 8 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,400 that there could be something more sinister in this. 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,720 With unprecedented access, 10 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,480 we follow the coroner's full investigation... 11 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:38,480 It does make you realise how fragile life is. 12 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:40,200 Let's start and just work our way up. 13 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,480 Forensic medicine is all about being very suspicious. 14 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,200 ..from the moment of arrival in the mortuary 15 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,760 to the final conclusion of the inquest. 16 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:51,400 All rise. 17 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,240 I'm sorry that you're attending court under these circumstances, 18 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:55,720 and I appreciate that the evidence 19 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:57,760 that you will hear today may be distressing. 20 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,280 I never thought I'd ever find myself in a coroners' court. 21 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,360 You shouldn't have to organise a funeral for your children. 22 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,640 If you die here, if it's violent, unnatural or of an unknown cause, 23 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:11,440 it's my job to find out how. 24 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:34,680 A man has collapsed at a homeless accommodation site in Blackburn. 25 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,000 The man was found without a pulse. 26 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:58,640 Despite attempts to resuscitate him, 27 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,600 he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. 28 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,080 So, this morning, I'm dealing with the death 29 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:13,120 of a 36-year-old Polish gentleman by the name of Robert Blonski. 30 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,640 Robert's death's been referred to the coroner by Lancashire Police. 31 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,080 Robert was complaining 32 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,040 of a two-day history of severe headaches. 33 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:24,640 The day before his death, 34 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,000 he was brought to Royal Blackburn Hospital. 35 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,040 He was booked into urgent care, but unfortunately, 36 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,280 before he's been seen or had any treatment, 37 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,720 he's left the hospital of his own accord. 38 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,320 24 hours later, 39 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,600 police officers found him suffering from some chest pain. 40 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:45,600 The police officers brought Robert back to hospital, 41 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:47,640 but unfortunately, once again, 42 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,280 Robert has discharged himself prior to treatment. 43 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,560 It would appear that following that, 44 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:56,400 he's then returned to his home address. 45 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,320 And then another resident at the site 46 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,680 has found him unresponsive. 47 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,200 He was transferred to Royal Blackburn Hospital 48 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,240 but sadly died shortly afterwards. 49 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,520 Robert has been transferred to the mortuary, 50 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,040 and a formal identification has taken place. 51 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,040 The background to his death is that two months ago, 52 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,240 Mr Blonski was admitted to hospital following assault. 53 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,240 I understand that during that assault, 54 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,760 he was kicked in the head and had half his ear bitten off. 55 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,000 There's a number of issues at the moment. 56 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,240 Firstly, we've got the assault a couple of months ago. 57 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:59,480 That still is uppermost in my mind as to what has happened then. 58 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,520 Then we've also got two separate hospital admissions 59 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,000 in the 24 hours leading up to his death, 60 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,200 but then discharges himself before any treatment. 61 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,680 One of the first questions that we will have to answer is 62 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:18,400 whether or not the assault 63 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,360 has caused or contributed to his death. 64 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:25,760 This would determine whether or not it is a police investigation 65 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,920 or whether the accident and emergency staff 66 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,480 have ruled out significant injury, 67 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,200 in which case this may not have contributed to his death, 68 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,160 and it becomes a coroner's investigation. 69 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,440 The scans taken at the time of Robert's assault two months ago 70 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,600 must now be reviewed by a consultant. 71 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:51,080 Mr Robert Blonski came to us accompanied by the police officer. 72 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,640 And he came at 23:49. 73 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,280 So, he was then triaged at that time, 74 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,880 and he came with a head injury. 75 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,040 He was assaulted by somebody, 76 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,840 and he was punched and kicked in the head. 77 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,000 And he was bleeding from the left ear, 78 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,120 and the left ear was apparently bitten off. 79 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,760 He had a significant amount of time that he was unconscious. 80 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,920 That prompted us to do the CT scan for his head 81 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,280 to make sure there's nothing in the head 82 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,160 which could be, you know, life-threatening. 83 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:28,320 At that time, the CT scan showed no evidence of any bleeding. 84 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,680 This showed no evidence of any swelling in the brain. 85 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:33,880 And there was no evidence of any broken bones 86 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:35,200 on the head or the skull. 87 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,920 There was nothing abnormal found in Mr Blonski on the CT scan. 88 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,800 The coroner has received the report from the hospital 89 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:54,360 and can now begin his investigation, 90 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,320 starting with an external examination. 91 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:05,640 So, Robert's 72 kilos. 92 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:07,840 And he's 1 metre 70. 93 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:14,640 Posterior lividity, and his rigor mortis is present. 94 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,640 A section on the outside of the left ear has been removed. 95 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,320 Actually, it's quite a chunk. 96 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,920 It's been confirmed that the assault 97 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,760 neither caused nor contributed to Robert Blonski's death. 98 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,720 As a result, we'll now proceed 99 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,040 with the CT postmortem scan and toxicology. 100 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,800 Because given his complicated past medical history, 101 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,200 his multiple hospital attendances, 102 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,760 we need to sort out what has happened here, 103 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,120 what the sequence of events are and what has caused his death. 104 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,240 Because at the moment, we don't know what's happened. 105 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,640 LESLEY SHARP: The coroner is investigating the sudden death 106 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,040 of 36-year-old Polish national Robert Blonski, 107 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,880 who died after collapsing in Blackburn. 108 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:23,320 Tattoos, he has right shoulder, right forearm. 109 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,400 Medical interventions, he's got an IO needle in his right shin. 110 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,760 Robert Blonski has had a number of involvements 111 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,760 with both the health care services and the police 112 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:38,200 over the preceding weeks. 113 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,240 And he also has a history of homelessness and alcohol abuse. 114 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,320 On the evening of his death, before he is brought in collapsed, 115 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,080 he has attended accident and emergency, 116 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,280 complaining of a severe headache for two days. 117 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,600 On the day before his death, 118 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,200 he called the ambulance because he had severe chest pain. 119 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,680 But by the time the ambulance got there, the pain had gone. 120 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,000 And we're not sure how each of these, if at all, 121 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,680 relates to his current collapse and death. 122 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:13,000 Initially, we will do toxicology and a CT scan, 123 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,480 which may give us a cause of death. 124 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,480 So, we're going to try and take some samples for toxicology. 125 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:23,360 Unfortunately, there's no urine, 126 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,360 so we're trying to get some blood samples. 127 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:33,760 And we are actually managing to get a really good blood sample. 128 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:35,120 Yeah. That's plenty. 129 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:37,480 We'll label those up, 130 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:39,360 and we'll send them off so they can be analysed 131 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:42,400 and see if there's anything in his system that's untoward. 132 00:08:57,920 --> 00:08:59,080 Robert was homeless 133 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,400 and had been helped by a government-funded programme, 134 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,880 which supports vulnerable adults facing issues, 135 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,160 including addiction and mental illness. 136 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,760 One of the things that we've set up in Blackburn 137 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:13,240 is our homelessness pods. 138 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,760 Robert had come to the attention of our single homeless team, 139 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,560 and he was rough sleeping. 140 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,760 They made the decision to offer Robert one of the homelessness pods 141 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:28,040 so he had a stable base and somewhere to keep him safe. 142 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:32,680 We were told that he'd been living in a tent for about four years. 143 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:36,440 He'd clearly been living quite a complex lifestyle 144 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:38,240 for a significant period of time. 145 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,080 He was a lovely person. 146 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,840 Despite his own adversities and his own challenges, 147 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,640 always trying to make people smile and amazing sense of humour. 148 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:53,440 But I think what really struck me was, 149 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:55,000 even though he didn't have anything, 150 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,080 he was such a warm, kind-hearted, caring person, 151 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:03,040 really thankful for any support that was offered to him. 152 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,560 And I got the impression that he'd not maybe had that before. 153 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,360 In Preston, police have been called 154 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,760 to the home of a 25-year-old woman called Shannon Jump. 155 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,760 She has been found unresponsive in bed. 156 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,720 Somebody who's 25, 157 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:54,320 to have a short history of cough and cold, 158 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,440 to suddenly deteriorate to such an extent so that they die 159 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:59,400 is really quite unusual. 160 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:04,120 Due to the concerns surrounding the death of such a young person, 161 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:08,040 the police are looking into anything that may have occurred 162 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:12,040 that warrants further investigation before we can make a decision 163 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,520 as to what type of postmortem is appropriate. 164 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,760 So, this morning, we've had a call from the ambulance service. 165 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:24,840 Just after ten o'clock. 166 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:26,360 Police have attended, 167 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:28,680 and there are a few questions surrounding the death, 168 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:30,920 which we just need to investigate a little bit further. 169 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:32,840 Clearly, there are a number of hypotheses 170 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:35,440 in relation to this young lady's passing. 171 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:36,600 One, it could be medical. 172 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:41,240 Two, it could be down to alcohol or drugs 173 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,360 because that picture is unknown at the moment. 174 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:47,280 Or thirdly, it could be at the hands of another third party. 175 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,440 So that, again, is to be further investigated. 176 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,120 And we'll see where that takes us. 177 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:03,200 Whilst the police continue to investigate the circumstances, 178 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,840 Shannon has been transferred to the mortuary 179 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,720 at Royal Preston Hospital. 180 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,560 Coroner's officers are looking into her medical background. 181 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,320 PHONE RINGS 182 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:19,680 Hello, is that Angela? 'Yes. Speaking.' 183 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:21,880 Hi, Angela. It's Becky at the coroner's office. 184 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,640 I believe that Sharon's dad passed away quite recently. 185 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:28,880 What did he die from, if you don't mind me asking? 186 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:32,440 'Cardiac arrest. High blood pressure.' 187 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,320 And how old was he? '47.' 188 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,360 It's just so we can make a note 189 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:42,360 to check whether or not there could be anything hereditary. 190 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,560 'The heart condition is because his dad passed of his heart. 191 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,240 'His mum's got heart failure as well. 192 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:49,480 'She's on medication for it.' 193 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,040 Right. 'So, it runs in both sets of families.' 194 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:58,680 Detective inspectors Steve Munk needs to update the coroner 195 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:03,640 on the police investigation into Shannon's sudden death. 196 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:05,440 'Hello, Steve.' Good afternoon. 197 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:07,920 We've now conducted a number of enquiries. 198 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:09,720 We've got a statement off her partner 199 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,760 that was in the flat overnight with her. 200 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:14,840 And we've got some CCTV, 201 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,360 which does corroborate what her boyfriend says, 202 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,880 that he went and took the dog for a walk in the morning, 203 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,800 came back, and that's when he's found her deceased in bed. 204 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,880 So we are still in that situation where there's nothing still 205 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:28,040 to indicate why she may have passed away. 206 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:29,920 But it's not looking like anything criminal. 207 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:35,680 'OK. If we get to the stage where the CT scan shows up something, 208 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,320 'and they go, "Not happy with that," we'll give you another shout.' 209 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:40,960 OK. OK, thank you. 210 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:52,160 With the police investigation into Shannon's death concluded, 211 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:56,560 an external examination can now take place. 212 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,080 Tattoos and piercings. 213 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,280 Polychromatic tattoo, left ankle and foot. 214 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:05,440 Yeah. 215 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:07,320 She's got three piercings 216 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,400 to... the right ear. 217 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:15,400 Yeah. And then two to the left. 218 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,480 OK. Medical intervention? 219 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,400 None seen. 220 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:29,880 She came around on the Monday, 221 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:32,200 she were feeling a bit unwell, coughing. 222 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,120 We thought nothing of it, she was having a laugh 223 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,200 in the front room with her sisters, and then she went home. 224 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,480 And then the day after, I got a text just saying that, 225 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:43,880 "I've got the doctor's at half past ten". 226 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,320 They just said that she had a chest infection. 227 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,920 Nothing serious. 228 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,560 I just feel I should have rung her to see how she was, 229 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:55,160 but I thought she'd be feeling a lot better in the morning. 230 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,680 Because she was such a young person, all she had was asthma, 231 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:01,920 she had no other medical conditions. 232 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,280 'I got the phone call about five to ten the next morning 233 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:06,760 'saying that she'd passed away.' 234 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:11,480 And part of me feels I wish I'd rung her 235 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,320 because I feel that... 236 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,960 ..that I hope she didn't think I didn't care. 237 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,160 So, it is... 238 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,720 it's really hard knowing that she's not here any more. 239 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:43,520 There are certain cases that get to me more. 240 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,880 Even though how awful it is losing a relative at any age, 241 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,880 I think the ones that I take on personally 242 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,560 are the ones that are, like, a similar age to me, maybe, 243 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,600 or children, or, like, a sudden death. 244 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:02,520 And we know that we're taking care of that patient the best we can. 245 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:06,880 It is a privilege. 246 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:25,720 36-year-old Robert Blonski, who died after collapsing 247 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,120 at a homeless accommodation site in Blackburn, 248 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,520 has arrived at Royal Preston Hospital 249 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,320 for a postmortem CT scan. 250 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,200 So, we have with us today Robert Blonski. 251 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,560 We'll definitely be looking for things like evidence 252 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,240 of any skull fractures. 253 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,360 We're also looking for evidence of any bleeds on the brain. 254 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:56,360 They, usually... they would appear white 255 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,640 as opposed to the sort of grey colour of the brain tissue. 256 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,360 So, at the minute, there doesn't appear to be 257 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:07,040 anything glaringly obvious. 258 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,080 So we'll go on to scan his heart now in a bit more detail. 259 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,720 We will get all these images sent across to our radiologist, 260 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,880 who'll finalise a report and then send that onto the coroner. 261 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,920 The police have traced Robert's family. 262 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,880 They live in Poland and do not speak any English. 263 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:35,200 Coroner's officer Debbie Stewart must call the next of kin 264 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,600 with the help of an interpreter. 265 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,400 'Please speak the name of the desired language.' 266 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:41,920 Polish. 267 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,800 Good morning. My name is Debbie Stewart, 268 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,960 and I'm going to be ringing the brother 269 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,680 of a deceased gentleman that I'm dealing with. 270 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,600 His name is Daniel Blonski. 271 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,120 When you have the death of a foreign national, 272 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,600 there are number of things you have to take care of. 273 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,440 There is an international treaty that requires us 274 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:30,760 to notify the Polish authorities 275 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,560 that one of their nationals has died in our country. 276 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,160 Liaising with the next of kin is much more difficult. 277 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,400 The Coroner's Service is unique 278 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,160 to places that have had English law - 279 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,280 places like Canada, New Zealand, Australia. 280 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,080 So trying to explain to a family, 281 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:54,280 who may never have come across a coroner's service 282 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,800 and may have no equivalent in their own country, 283 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,160 is its first challenge. 284 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:11,000 Robert's postmortem CT scan is being reviewed by a radiologist 285 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,960 in an attempt to reveal his cause of death. 286 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,960 Obviously, history of previous assault, 287 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,600 but we know the CT at the time was normal. 288 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,560 Equally as important, 289 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:27,400 there's no evidence that he sustained 290 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:31,640 any significant injury within the brain in the meantime. 291 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:33,800 Then we look through the abdomen. 292 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,640 History of alcoholism here, so important to look at the liver 293 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,040 because alcoholics frequently get liver disease. 294 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:42,280 No, there's no gross evidence here 295 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,440 that the patient's got alcoholic liver disease. 296 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,880 I think it's unlikely that it's directly relevant 297 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,520 in terms of his cause of death. 298 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,080 So, now we're looking through the chest and the heart here, 299 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:56,960 and there is a history of chest pain. 300 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,960 He's a relatively young man, but that doesn't mean to say 301 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,120 that he couldn't have coronary artery disease. 302 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,800 And, in fact, if you look here 303 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,840 at the main coronary artery on the left side, 304 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,680 there are definite areas of significant calcification. 305 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,840 The CT has ruled out several other potential causes. 306 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,120 You know, we can rule out trauma, for example. 307 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:22,640 So what I would be saying to the coroner in this case is 308 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,960 toxicology is important because of the history, 309 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,600 and the coroner will make a decision on cause of death 310 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:30,920 once we have those results available. 311 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,600 There are a number of concerning features about this case. 312 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,440 The difficulty with this is that Mr Blonski uses alcohol 313 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,280 to a significant excess, and he may have alcoholic poisoning. 314 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:50,000 But we don't know whether or not this has got any relation 315 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,160 to what has caused his death at this point in time. 316 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,600 LESLEY SHARP: The investigation is continuing 317 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:11,400 into the death of a 36-year-old man, who was found collapsed. 318 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,640 Robert Blonski is a Polish national 319 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,240 who is living in the UK and is homeless most of the time. 320 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,200 He has a history of alcoholism. 321 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:27,160 He has been to hospital on a number of different occasions. 322 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,560 He was brought in earlier on the evening of his death by the police 323 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,000 and left before being seen. 324 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:38,080 He is then found collapsed in his homeless pod shelter. 325 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:48,120 Robert had received help from a government-funded programme. 326 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,240 Robert was heavily in addiction. 327 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,080 When you're in addiction, it consumes everything. 328 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,640 It takes over your life, it becomes your priority. 329 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,280 So your basic needs, such as your food, your shelter, 330 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,200 they're not a priority any more, 331 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,200 and that has a profound impact on someone's physical health. 332 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:11,640 We tried to guide him and steer him towards making better choices. 333 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:13,400 And that's, really, I think, 334 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:15,880 at that point in Robert's life, all we could offer him 335 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:21,040 because he wasn't ready to address any issues himself. 336 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:25,120 In Robert's case, because he was such a likeable person, 337 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,320 services were really upset 338 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:29,200 when they found out that he'd passed away. 339 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,160 Coroner's officer Debbie 340 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,320 needs to update Robert's next of kin in Poland 341 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:44,200 with the help of an interpreter. 342 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:49,400 Daniel, I now have the results from the CT postmortem scan. 343 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,840 What the scan has shown 344 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:57,480 is calcification in the left coronary artery. 345 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:01,480 What has also happened is a sample of Robert's blood 346 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,520 has been sent for toxicology testing. 347 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,800 It may take a few weeks 348 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,680 before we get the results of those tests. 349 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:18,840 You will be able to do that now. 350 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,760 The coroner has authorised that Robert can be released 351 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,280 so that his funeral can go ahead. 352 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:42,480 Robert's repatriation to Poland may take several weeks, 353 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:45,640 so he will remain at Royal Blackburn Hospital. 354 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,880 In the meantime, we're gonna move him out 355 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,160 into our long-term storage so we can look after him out there 356 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,040 whilst they're finishing the arrangements. 357 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:57,320 So I'm just going to record in my register that I'm moving him 358 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:00,080 so that we know where he's located. 359 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:03,280 The specialist storage facility 360 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,000 is kept at a lower temperature than the mortuary. 361 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,320 Anyone staying for longer than 30 days is moved there. 362 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:12,920 Whether or not this case goes to inquest 363 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,000 will be determined by what the toxicology shows. 364 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:22,400 And if it shows acute alcoholic poisoning, 365 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,800 an inquest will be required. 366 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,320 Equally, if it doesn't show anything, 367 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:30,320 this will be a natural death due to his heart disease. 368 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:33,360 But at the moment, until the results come back, 369 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:34,920 I can't make that decision. 370 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:49,440 The coroner is also investigating the sudden and unexpected death 371 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:54,040 of 25-year-old Shannon Jump, who was found dead at home. 372 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,080 A postmortem CT scan has been ordered. 373 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:04,560 Shannon Jump is a 25-year-old woman 374 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:08,040 who lives at home with her child and partner 375 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,880 and has had a three- or four-day history of cough and cold. 376 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,440 Her partner has last seen her alive 377 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,000 at approximately one o'clock in the morning 378 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:22,160 and the next day finds her dead in bed with no apparent cause. 379 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,480 There is some family history of heart disease, 380 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,720 but it's uncertain whether or not it's connected to Shannon. 381 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,360 So, we'll start off by scanning Shannon top to toe. 382 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,240 We'll scan her whole body through. 383 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,160 And then, because of her age, we'll do an angiogram of her heart 384 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,880 where we'll inject some contrast into the catheter 385 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:46,760 that has been placed by the mortuary staff 386 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,640 and hopefully get a bit more detail for the radiologist. 387 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,120 Someone this young, 388 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,560 you wouldn't usually expect them to pass away 389 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:57,080 from just having a chest infection. 390 00:26:57,120 --> 00:26:59,520 It does seem quite strange. 391 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,080 This area of white here is the contrast, 392 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:10,320 and you can see the tiny vessels all filled with white, 393 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:12,400 so they're all filled nicely with contrast. 394 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,840 Shannon's partner is not the father of her child. 395 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:32,960 Hello. Are you coming? Grandma. 396 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,320 Are you coming? Come on, then. Oh. 397 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:38,320 Shannon's mum is now bringing up her granddaughter. 398 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:39,800 Hello. Say hello. 399 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:41,360 JOSIE: Cheeky. 400 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,280 JOSIE BABBLES Who is it? 401 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,880 That's Mummy. Is that Mummy? 402 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:47,560 Give Mum a kiss. 403 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,840 That's your mummy. 404 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:56,400 Shannon doted on her daughter, Josie, who's 16 months old. 405 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,480 Everything she did was for her. 406 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,320 She worked all the hours just to provide for my granddaughter. 407 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:08,160 Just so hard knowing that she's not gonna be here any more 408 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:13,200 or walk in thorough the door and saying, "Hiya!" 409 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,560 So, when I got the phone call about Shannon passing away, 410 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:23,000 it was only four months after my husband passing. 411 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:25,680 I have questions about why Shannon passed, 412 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:28,480 whether it was linked to her dad, heart conditions. 413 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,800 Did Shannon have any of it? Was it hereditary? 414 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,360 There was no signs of it going to happen. 415 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,320 She still should be here. 416 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:40,720 I'm taking each day as it comes, 417 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:45,080 doing everything I can for Josie so she doesn't forget her mum. 418 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:46,800 We're such a close family. 419 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,760 Everybody's found it really hard that she's passed. 420 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,320 So it's in memory of Shannon 421 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,760 and that she knows that we're doing our best 422 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:56,600 and will keep Josie safe. 423 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,520 She's just been took way too soon. 424 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,240 Shannon's postmortem CT scan 425 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,920 will now be reviewed by a consultant radiologist. 426 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,520 We've got the background history, and we move onto the scan. 427 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:28,200 So, looking through the brain, 428 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:30,880 it doesn't really fit with this history, 429 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:35,120 but there's no acute abnormality in the brain or the head. 430 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:37,680 Then we look down through the chest. 431 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,760 Some people can have underlying cardiac abnormalities 432 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:42,680 that they're completely unaware of. 433 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:44,920 There's nothing abnormal 434 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,920 in terms of the radiological appearances of the heart. 435 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:52,320 And if we change onto the windows that show us the lungs, 436 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:56,160 there's areas throughout this left lung that look abnormal. 437 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,520 So, for example, there's an area here 438 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,760 where we see a small cavity forming within the lung. 439 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,920 There's background areas of air space consolidation. 440 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,960 So, this area here, the dark-grey area, 441 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,280 is normal lung, effectively. 442 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,120 And when we compare, we can clearly see 443 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,720 these patch areas within the left lung that are abnormal. 444 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,720 So, basically, we've got an abnormal left lung, 445 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,360 a clinical history of shortness of breath and chest pain 446 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,160 and recent diagnosis of chest infection. 447 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,080 If we put the two together, 448 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,160 I think it's fairly clear in this case, sadly, 449 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,560 that Shannon's passed away from pneumonia. 450 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,120 Shannon's CT postmortem results have come back. 451 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,480 She has got infiltrates in her lung. 452 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:39,400 She has got infection in her lung 453 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:43,000 spreading throughout, which is bronchopneumonia. 454 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,960 This is a significant infection, 455 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,360 and this is an infection that kills people, even at a young age, 456 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:51,800 and kills them very quickly. 457 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:02,480 Coroners' officer Becky Jones 458 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,200 must update the family with a cause of death. 459 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,680 PHONE RINGS 'Hello?' 460 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,800 Hi, Angela. It's Becky calling from the coroner's office at Preston. 461 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:12,560 I'm just giving you a call 462 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:16,160 to let you know that the CT scan results have come back now. 'Right.' 463 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:20,680 And the scan has established a cause of death for Shannon. 'Right.' 464 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:24,480 So, the cause of death that has been found is pneumonia. 'Right.' 465 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,240 So for that reason, the coroner's reviewed the report, 466 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,520 and they don't believe that a further postmortem will be needed. 467 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,480 So Shannon can be collected from the hospital now 468 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,120 for your funeral arrangements. 469 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,520 CHILD BABBLES, ANGELA CRIES 470 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,840 Shannon's only 25 years old. 471 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,840 We don't have many cases of young people dying of pneumonia, 472 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,680 and Mum's probably gonna find that quite hard. 473 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,520 She is also looking after Shannon's little one for her now as well. 474 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:08,880 We don't have medical training in this role, but we do learn, 475 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,720 and we learn what's not as common as well. 476 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:13,360 So, this is one that... 477 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,880 I've never dealt with before and I hope I don't have to again. 478 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,400 I think no matter what age a person is when they die, 479 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:27,920 it's still someone's mum or dad, or... Yeah, dad. 480 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:29,360 BOTH: Sister, brother. Yeah. 481 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,920 So it's always sad for everyone, no matter what age they get to. 482 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:38,240 But in terms of us, younger ones are harder to deal with. 483 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,160 Oh, yeah, definitely. 484 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,240 They're either closer, maybe, to our children or our friends. Yeah. 485 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:45,560 Sometimes, they, you know... 486 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:49,000 they've died in circumstances that could have... been avoided. 487 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,200 It does make you realise how fragile life is. 488 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,640 36-year-old Robert Blonski 489 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,360 died shortly after arriving at Royal Blackburn Hospital. 490 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:14,040 His cause of death is currently being investigated, 491 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:17,840 but the coroner has authorised his release back to his family. 492 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:22,320 So, the undertakers are coming to collect Mr Blonski from us today, 493 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,120 get him ready to repatriate him. 494 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:28,200 He'll be going back to Poland for his funeral. 495 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:37,320 So, this is Robert Mariusz Blonski. 496 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:40,760 'We've usually got one or two patients with us 497 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,240 'that have been here a little while. 498 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:43,720 'Either they haven't got families, 499 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,560 'or families are having difficulties making arrangements. 500 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:48,760 'So it's quite common for us to have one or two patients 501 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:50,840 'that have been with us a couple of months.' 502 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,080 The toxicology lab is looking to establish 503 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:15,000 whether drugs or alcohol 504 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,760 have caused or contributed to Robert's death. 505 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:22,600 In this case, Dr Adeley has asked us 506 00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:24,720 to explore a number of different avenues. 507 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:27,760 We know that the gentleman was known to drink to excess, 508 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:32,240 so Dr Adeley would like us to exclude alcohol toxicity 509 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,920 because alcohol poisoning is a very common cause of death. 510 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:37,840 We're also going to explore the possibility 511 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,960 that the alcohol that may have been drunk by this gentleman 512 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,440 may have been contaminated with other alcohols. 513 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:46,560 Alcohol in alcoholic drinks is ethanol. 514 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,920 There are other more toxic alcohols 515 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:52,120 that may be contaminated in illicit sources of alcohol, 516 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,200 and that may be something like methanol, which is incredibly toxic. 517 00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,480 So we will screen for all of the illicit compounds 518 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:01,600 as well as prescription medications 519 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:04,560 because it's important that we explore all avenues 520 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:06,800 in the cause of death in this case. 521 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:16,000 Toxicology has been returned, 522 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,160 and it will be necessary to go to inquest 523 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,720 to compare this against the findings of the CT scan 524 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:23,520 to determine a cause of death. 525 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:25,960 LINE BEEPS 526 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,080 AUTOMATED REPLY: 'Please hold for an interpreter.' 527 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:30,240 Good morning, Daniel. 528 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:35,960 Legally, the coroner now has to hold an inquest. 529 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,720 Once I have the date of the inquest, I'll send a further email. 530 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:42,960 INTERPRETER: 531 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,720 OK, thank you. Bye-bye now. 532 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:51,680 What I'm going to do now is request some other statements 533 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:53,120 that will assist the coroner. 534 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,280 There was a couple of witnesses at his home address 535 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,800 who he spoke to on the evening of his death 536 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:02,040 and, in fact, one of his neighbours who actually found him unresponsive, 537 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:05,240 so I'll be asking the police to obtain statements from them. 538 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:16,200 With no family living in the UK, 539 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:19,200 Robert's brother Daniel and partner Izabella 540 00:36:19,240 --> 00:36:22,880 have travelled from Poland to attend the upcoming inquest. 541 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:30,800 IN POLISH: 542 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:55,200 From an early age, 543 00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:59,240 both Robert and Daniel lived in a children's home in Poland. 544 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:17,760 LESLEY SHARP: It's the day 545 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,280 of 36-year-old Robert Blonkski's inquest. 546 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:24,880 Robert's brother, Daniel, and his partner, Izabella, 547 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:27,360 have travelled from Poland to attend. 548 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,840 Establishing the cause of death at the inquest 549 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:33,920 will be listening to the evidence. 550 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,520 Weighing it all in the balance to see whether or not 551 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:38,600 it is his coronary artery disease 552 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:41,680 or the amount of alcohol that he's drunk 553 00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:44,360 that is the principal factor causing his death - 554 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:46,520 or whether it's a combination of the pair of them. 555 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:50,440 But it will only be after I have heard all of the evidence 556 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:53,080 that I can make up my mind and come to a decision. 557 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,240 Daniel, Izabella, I just wanted to explain to you 558 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,480 what's going to happen today when we go into court. 559 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:04,160 The coroner's asked for a number of witnesses to come and give evidence. 560 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,800 INTERPRETING 561 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:10,960 IN POLISH: 562 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:12,360 Yes. 563 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:21,520 WOMAN: All rise. 564 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:30,880 MAN: Could you tell me your occupation, please? 565 00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:33,720 I work at the homeless pods. 566 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:35,800 Now, I believe you were on duty 567 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:39,000 on the evening that Robert Blonski is then found collapsed. 568 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:42,440 What can you remember, please? You could tell he'd had a drink. 569 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,240 I wouldn't say he was very intoxicated. 570 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,560 He opened his window and leant his arm out to have a cigarette. 571 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:52,800 About 20 minutes later, he was still in the same position. 572 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:55,800 I went to check on him. I couldn't see him breathing. 573 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:57,480 Couldn't find a pulse. 574 00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:01,920 I'm going to deal now with the toxicology results. 575 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:05,440 These show that he had a blood alcohol concentration 576 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,840 of 329mg per decilitre, 577 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,880 which demonstrates potentially fatal intoxication. 578 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:15,480 Robert Blonski was smoking a cigarette 579 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:18,160 and was found collapsed in that position. 580 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:21,080 The difficulty that I'm faced with here 581 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:24,240 is that Robert Blonski has a high alcohol level 582 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:27,040 and also has coronary artery disease. 583 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:31,040 MAN: I'm a consultant in emergency medicine 584 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:34,080 at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. 585 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:39,120 The CT scan showed evidence of coronary artery disease, 586 00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:41,680 which can cause a heart attack. 587 00:40:41,720 --> 00:40:44,120 The fact that Robert was found in that position 588 00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:47,600 makes me think that he had a very sudden cause for his death, 589 00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:50,320 which is more likely to be, in my opinion, 590 00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:53,920 explained by a heart attack rather than alcohol toxicity. 591 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:57,040 I accept the medical evidence 592 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:00,840 that the most likely cause of death is that of coronary artery disease. 593 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:03,840 And consequently, this is a natural death. 594 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:09,360 My condolences are and remain with Mr Blonski's family. 595 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:24,040 IN POLISH: 596 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:47,440 In this inquest, there was always two possible causes of death - 597 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:50,280 there's the heart disease and the alcohol. 598 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:53,680 And the alcohol remained a possible cause of death 599 00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:57,520 right up to the point that we heard how he was found, 600 00:41:57,560 --> 00:42:00,480 which allowed the accident and emergency consultant 601 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:03,960 to explain that this was a very sudden cause of death, 602 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:07,440 which makes it a cardiac and a natural cause of death. 603 00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:20,720 IN POLISH: 604 00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:01,280 It's been two months since 25-year-old Shannon Jump's 605 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:06,120 sudden and unexpected death from bronchopneumonia. 606 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:16,000 Today, we've come to have tattoos done 607 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:18,160 with Shannon's ashes in. 608 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:21,200 I'm having a pink rose put next to my husband's blue rose 609 00:43:21,240 --> 00:43:23,720 with ashes in so they'll be together. 610 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:30,640 How that's feeling? That's fine. 611 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:35,560 Well, my husband was a big Everton fan... 612 00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:37,960 so that's why his is blue. 613 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,520 And Shannon, she just absolutely loved pink. 614 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:46,360 It doesn't seem real that she's... she's not here, to be honest. 615 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,440 I still expect her to walk through the door 616 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:51,280 or just ring me, saying, "Mum, do you wanna go shopping?" 617 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:52,960 You know, just little things like that. 618 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:57,440 She was so loud, bubbly. 619 00:43:57,480 --> 00:43:59,400 She was just a fantastic person, 620 00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,520 and Shannon, all she ever wanted to do was be a mum. 621 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:13,680 I've got a part of my husband, 622 00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:16,400 and now I've got a part of my daughter with me, 623 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:17,960 no matter where we go. 624 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:22,640 Right, missus, you're done. 625 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:41,640 There is no explanation as to why he's died. 626 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:43,640 He's fit, he's well. 627 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:46,640 The death certificate from Egypt 628 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:49,960 shows no postmortem has been performed. OK. 629 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,080 All Lesley had came to us with was a copy of his passport 630 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:54,680 attached to the outside of his coffin. 631 00:44:54,720 --> 00:44:57,600 Oh, he's on holiday. He can't have died. 632 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:00,840 It's the furthest thought from your mind 633 00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:04,800 that something this horrendous is ever gonna happen to you.