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Cause of Death -S01 Episode 1 - A Last Night Out
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00:09There are countless factors that can lead to your death.
00:13A senior coroner, I deal with almost 4,000 fatalities a year.
00:19Royal Preston is one of the hospitals in coroner Dr James Adley's jurisdiction.
00:24Every single person in this mortuary that has died unnaturally is under the control of the coroner.
00:31Dr Adley can make any inquiries necessary to find a cause of death.
00:37If the coroner instructs the police to investigate, then that is what we do.
00:42In this series, for the first time ever, we follow the full investigation and unfold the mystery of any unexplained
00:51death.
00:51From the moment of arrival in the mortuary, to the final conclusion of the inquest.
00:57It's allowing families to understand how the death occurred and deal with it in their own way as part of
01:04their own grieving process.
01:06This is the last bit to find out what actually happened to them.
01:11If you die here, if it's violent, unnatural or of an unknown cause, it's my job to find out how.
01:35I think we left Frank's about half-six to go up to Leyland.
01:39And the bus shelter was like, probably about 100 yards away from Frank's house.
01:44There we go. Thank you.
01:49It was just going up Leyland, going around a few pubs, and having a crack, having a few beers.
01:56And I thought, yeah, we're going to have a good night.
02:02It's unbelievable. You know what I mean, what happened?
02:05It's like your worst nightmare.
02:15There's two people live on the road on West Paddock, New Ireland.
02:20On the road.
02:21On the road?
02:23Yeah.
02:24Right, right. We'll get somebody to attend, all right.
02:38Now then, Frank Brimley, it's reported that as they've come out of the club, he's fallen off the curb and
02:45banged his head.
02:46He's either fallen, had some kind of fight or whatever.
02:49He might have picked himself up and carried on walking, and then it collapsed.
02:59Coroner's officers here are employed by the police, but the service is provided by Lancashire County Council.
03:06Each morning, they receive a list of everyone who has died in hospital.
03:10And on that list today is 73-year-old Frank Brimley, who was found lying in the road.
03:16I've received a phone call today from an officer over at Chorley.
03:22A gentleman has died in ICU.
03:25Police have had involvement with him on the Saturday.
03:32So they received a call early on Saturday morning of two elderly men in the road.
03:38One of the gentlemen had a cut above his eye, he was fine, but the other one lost consciousness and
03:43became unresponsive.
03:46The circumstances at the moment, we're not quite sure what's happened, because the friends said that they'd been out drinking.
03:51So we don't know whether they may have had an altercation.
03:55We don't know whether they've fallen over drunk and he's banged his head.
03:59We don't know whether there may be a third party involved.
04:01We just don't know.
04:15When Frank Brimley was brought into hospital, he was given a CT scan before he died.
04:21For the coroner's investigation, this might provide vital clues to what happened.
04:27This gentleman's died basically of a large intracranial hemorrhage.
04:31This is a CT scan of the brain, which shows there's an area of bleeding within the brain, which is
04:36this whiter area.
04:37And then surrounding that, you've got a darker ring, which is some swelling of the brain tissue.
04:43Soft tissue swelling down here.
04:45And sometimes you get bleeds opposite to the area that was banged.
04:48It's what's called a contrecoup injury.
04:50So it does have some evidence that he might have banged his head there.
04:53And if somebody pushed him and he banged his head, then that changes the picture slightly.
05:13We are concerned that there might be foul play, given the circumstances of them being found in the road.
05:18It's quite unusual for two people to be lying in the road in the dark at that time of night.
05:25What I need to establish is whether there's been any kind of dispute, any kind of third-party involvement that's
05:32resulted in them falling in the road,
05:34or whether there's been some kind of road traffic collision.
05:37Ultimately, we just need to make sure that Frank hasn't been unlawfully killed.
05:42What's your name?
05:43Frank.
05:44Yeah.
05:46Frank Brimley.
05:51At a certain time in the night, everything becomes hazy, and I probably can't remember anything after that.
05:59Nothing at all.
06:01Obviously, you think Ian might have done something.
06:04I feel that that's my fault.
06:07And, you know, I could have caused it.
06:12Frank.
06:13Hey, wait for me.
06:37Because they do quite a thorough external examination, we always need a ruler, because they'll, like, measure scars, bruises, maybe
06:44some marks.
06:48PM40, that's the main knife used within an invasive post-mortem that either myself or the pathologist would use.
07:00I think people, like, the outside world, I don't think they realise the extent of how many people die a
07:07day.
07:07No.
07:07There's a massive taboo about death, though.
07:09Yeah.
07:09She can't talk about it.
07:10No.
07:11And I think it is a normal part of life.
07:14And it is sad, but it is a normal part.
07:16Yeah.
07:17You know, obviously, we deal with, like, you know, six, seven patients who die a night, every single night.
07:23So, if you let that get to you, you'd never be able to do the job,
07:27and you'd never be able to get up in the morning.
07:29I used to say to my daughter when she was really young, she'd say, what do you do?
07:33I used to say, I'm like a nurse that works with people who are obviously never going to get better.
07:46We're getting there.
07:48Yeah, we've been here since Sunday.
07:51The Midlands, near Coventry.
07:53Because Frank came from the Midlands.
07:56Frank Brimley was a widower with no children.
08:00His goddaughters have arrived from Loneaton to clear his flat.
08:06Right, have these ones been done?
08:08Yeah.
08:08Just that one and that.
08:10That one.
08:10Have you done that?
08:11Yeah, I've wiped that out.
08:13I've got to get them rubs up as well.
08:14There's rubs everywhere in the house.
08:16So we've obviously got to empty the property and hand the keys in on Friday.
08:21So we've literally got three or four days to empty the flat.
08:24I don't think we've even had time to breathe.
08:25No.
08:26Just not had time to think about it.
08:32I mean, I've got really fond memories of him.
08:34He was a nice man, yeah.
08:36He had a heart of gold.
08:37His social life was, going to the pub, karaoke.
08:41He didn't like spending money on stuff that weren't important.
08:44No.
08:45You know, he'd rather go out and have fun with his money.
08:51Frank Brimley is a 73-year-old gentleman who collapsed in the street
08:56and he'd got a bleed in the right frontal lobe of his brain.
09:01And unfortunately, as the bleed continued, the pressure inside his head began to rise.
09:07And this is particularly problematic because your skull is a fixed box
09:11and when you raise pressure inside the head,
09:14it forces your brainstem out of the bottom of your brain
09:18and that interrupts all the centres that maintain your breathing,
09:22your heart rate, and you will not survive.
09:28They rang us on the Monday morning,
09:29but he said he's had another massive bleed this morning
09:32and we advised that you turn off the machine.
09:35So there was only the tours, weren't there?
09:36You know, we was together and we said,
09:38we need to do the right thing, don't we?
09:40We need to turn off the machine, don't we?
09:41So we held his hand, didn't we?
09:43And we played some music.
09:44We loved music, so we asked Alexa,
09:46just play some random 60s music.
09:48So we turned his machine off at quarter to four
09:51and by four o'clock he'd die.
09:57Just heartbreaking.
10:00It's not nice having to chuck people's things away and we didn't sign up for this, you know,
10:06and having to make a decision to turn somebody's life support machine off.
10:10It's not nice.
10:15Yes, then.
10:18We know that he went out with his friend drinking,
10:20so he'd fell over, brought his friend down,
10:22and it had gone from there.
10:23Were they just fumbling along and fell?
10:26But then they kept saying about the trauma.
10:28Yeah.
10:28So to us, that was a blow to the head.
10:30We've had so many mixed messages, we don't really know.
10:32You know, so what did happen?
10:35Oh, my God, how the hell did we manage to get that in?
10:45Frank Brimley.
10:47Dear Alice, comma, new paragraph.
10:50Could you let me know where we are at
10:53with obtaining a statement from the neurosurgeon?
10:57Please, question mark.
10:59Dr. Aidley has asked the police to investigate the possibility
11:03of any third-party involvement.
11:05He will now need to wait for their conclusions.
11:09Coroners are only involved in deaths that are in some way unnatural.
11:14Basically, there is something unusual about the death.
11:17There is something that is not a natural disease process
11:20involved with the death.
11:21The police are interested in deaths that are suspicious
11:25and maybe due to criminal activity.
11:27Now, the two may overlap,
11:28in which case the police take precedence
11:31because they have specific rules of evidence
11:33and have to comply with these.
11:43Frank Brimley is not the only case
11:45that the coroner's team are investigating.
11:49In Preston City Centre,
11:51an unresponsive male has been found
11:53in the gardens of a public house.
11:56He died shortly after arriving in hospital.
12:00I've been asked to attend a scene this morning
12:03following the report of a sudden death.
12:11The male was located around about this spot,
12:14so it's up against the boundary wall
12:16and just to the side of this hedge.
12:19Our uniformed colleagues are usually first on scene
12:22at an incident like this
12:23because it's called in as an emergency incident
12:25and then they've asked for CID to be made aware.
12:29And our role is initially to establish
12:31that there's no third-party involvement
12:33and then to carry out the investigation
12:36on behalf of the coroner.
12:39So currently, the male is completely unidentified,
12:43so there's no personal identification documents with him.
12:48We also have no witnesses in relation to the incident.
12:53It was a freezing cold night
12:55and the man was found only wearing a T-shirt
12:58and jogging pants.
13:01We are going to the mortuary.
13:02I've got a gentleman in who is at the moment unidentified.
13:06He came into A&E where he was pronounced dead.
13:10We just have him as unknown, unknown,
13:12so we're just on our way to some mortuary
13:14to change the tags so that they match all our paperwork.
13:20Please, may I change the tags from Alpha Pappa
13:23to unknown, unknown?
13:27This case, in this day and age, is very unusual.
13:31If you think about the amount of identification
13:33that you may have, where you live,
13:36your wallet, your bank cards, your mobile phone,
13:39all sorts of information is on you,
13:42this man had absolutely none of these.
13:46And no-one knows him.
13:48It's really weird, isn't it?
13:49And everyone so far that's been rung in,
13:52they've been able to...
13:53Locate?
13:53Yeah, or discount because it doesn't match.
13:59When somebody dies
14:00and there is no obvious next-of-kin
14:03because you don't have an identification,
14:05the coroner will take control of the body.
14:07I retain control of the body
14:10until my investigations are complete
14:12and then it's released.
14:15We'll wait a couple of weeks
14:16to see what leads that we get to come in.
14:18We will then do a body map of his marks and scars,
14:21his tattoos,
14:23get a dental map of his teeth
14:25and submit that with a full description of him
14:28to the UK missing persons database.
14:30And then eventually,
14:31if we still have no-one come forward,
14:33we'll have to refer him to environmental health
14:35at the council to carry out his funeral,
14:37unfortunately, as an unknown male.
14:46It's been 48 hours since the death of Frank Brimley
14:50and at the coroner's office,
14:52investigations are continuing
14:54into the circumstances surrounding his fall.
15:00Hello, Alice.
15:01Hi.
15:01You OK?
15:02I've got some more information about Frank Brimley.
15:04Oh, right, yes.
15:06So I think doctor's statement suggests
15:07he fell outside of the...
15:09Oh, the Conservative Club, yeah.
15:10Yep.
15:11However, the MWAS sheet, I think,
15:13has a different address on.
15:15Right.
15:15So they're just conflicting, really.
15:17What I'll do is,
15:18I've told the police
15:19that we just need to get CCTV
15:20of the Conservative Club.
15:22I'll contact the police this morning,
15:23see whereabouts it's up to,
15:24and then I'll let you know.
15:25Is that OK?
15:25Yeah, of course.
15:26Thanks, Alice.
15:26Bye.
15:27Cheers.
15:45Hello, you OK there?
15:46Police licensing.
15:50There's two gentlemen.
15:51Yeah, right, I've got it ready for you.
15:52I know where it is.
15:53It's Frank.
15:54Right, no problem.
15:55I believe he came in twice.
15:58Yeah, do a playing pool.
15:59Yeah, you're right.
16:01Not back door.
16:02Games room.
16:02Yeah.
16:03Oh, there you go.
16:04That's him.
16:05So at about five past eight,
16:07they've just come in
16:07and they've just started playing pool.
16:09And I'm sure he left around nine-ish.
16:13Oh, that's 2046.
16:15So yeah, this will be invaluable
16:17because it then means
16:18I can go back to other premises
16:20and narrow down the search
16:21and narrow down the search
16:22that's a little bit lower.
16:22So you don't have to mess about as much.
16:27Oh, he's back.
16:28From what I've been told,
16:29this is the last place they visit
16:31and then we know they leave
16:33at around about 13 minutes past midnight,
16:36don't they?
16:41So sad as well.
16:42I would talk to him at front doors
16:44he was on the back
16:45coming in for karaoke on Saturday
16:46because he likes it.
16:47He likes his music, Frank.
16:49Thanks.
16:50I love music.
16:52I gave him a hug
16:53at the end of the night.
17:17It's been 24 hours
17:19since the unidentified man's death.
17:21So the plan now
17:23is to do a press release
17:26and social media release
17:27with the details that we've got.
17:29So what I do
17:30is put a detailed description together.
17:34So it's got his approximate age,
17:36height,
17:37and then the description
17:39of the tattoos on his forearm.
17:41It's also got some surgery scars
17:44on there as well.
17:45So hopefully they'll be the trigger
17:47for somebody's memory,
17:49somebody's thoughts
17:50as a way of getting this mail.
17:52Identified.
17:55There's always a lot of interest
17:56with these things on Facebook.
17:58Obviously there's a lot of people
17:59saying how sad it is.
18:00A lot of people saying
18:01how awful it is
18:02for the family to find out
18:03over a press release.
18:05But we wouldn't do this
18:06if we hadn't exhausted
18:07all the other avenues.
18:10We just really want to find out
18:11who he is and find his family.
18:26I live here
18:28where I grew up
18:29and Frank lived
18:30about six doors down
18:32at his grandma and grandda's.
18:34so I've known him
18:35you know, 68 years.
18:39He was like
18:41easygoing
18:42and like
18:43happy-go-lucky
18:45and that was Frank.
18:49So I got there
18:50at two o'clock
18:50on the Friday afternoon
18:51and he'd done me
18:52some cheese on toast
18:53just sat down there
18:54talking
18:55and then he said like
18:57what do you want to do tonight?
18:58So I said
18:59yeah, I'll just as soon
19:00like stay around here
19:02and then have a Chinese
19:03or a chippy.
19:06He said no
19:07we're going to go up Leyland.
19:14Probably midnight
19:15half twelve
19:17we've had a fair bit to drink
19:19I think after a certain point
19:20everything's gone.
19:25I can just remember
19:26all the police cars there
19:28in a huddle
19:28sort of converging
19:30to us
19:31like a random circle.
19:34Nothing you read to me Frank?
19:36Yeah?
19:40Apparently I said
19:41I think Frank's dying
19:43so I must have been
19:44in a position
19:45to look at him
19:46on the floor
19:47but I can't remember that.
19:49I can't remember saying that.
19:54Whether Frank tripped
19:56and brought me down
19:57or I tripped
19:58and brought him down
19:59but you know
20:00you don't know what's happened.
20:02You know
20:02you could have had an argument
20:04and when like
20:05the police come round
20:05to interview you
20:06you think like
20:07you might be under suspicion.
20:09Yeah I did yeah
20:11that worried me.
20:16It's not fair on the families
20:17just to be told
20:18we've found your loved one
20:20lying in the street
20:21and unfortunately he's dead.
20:22They need to know
20:23more than that.
20:23They need to know
20:25how he's come to be lying
20:27in the street
20:27and what is the cause of death.
20:30How are we doing?
20:32Oh my God.
20:34They need answers.
20:35We need to make sure
20:36as investigators
20:37that there is no foul play
20:38and then we can feed that
20:40back to the families
20:40and also feed it to the coroner
20:42and the coroner will decide
20:44whether the death was
20:45natural, unnatural
20:46or even in some cases
20:49refer it back to the police
20:50if the coroner feels
20:51he needs further investigation.
20:53Well that's right.
20:57Sad.
20:57Sad and I feel like
20:58we've chucked him
20:59in the tip.
21:00You know
21:01his belongings
21:01it's really sad.
21:03You know
21:04now we can
21:05obviously put him to bed
21:06but this was heartbreaking.
21:08Really heartbreaking.
21:10You could set me off now.
21:11I'm sorry.
21:13I'm sorry.
21:13I was just so tired.
21:15I think that's the problem
21:15as well isn't it?
21:16I've been exhausted.
21:18Knowing you'll never
21:19come here again.
21:43Hello.
21:44Preston's the ID.
21:46Right okay.
21:47If you leave that with me
21:48I will
21:49hopefully get to the bottom of it.
21:51So it looks like
21:52we've got
21:52an identification
21:53for the unidentified male
21:56at the hospital.
22:19The police received a call
22:21from a family
22:22reporting
22:23their husband
22:25missing.
22:26The police have gone round
22:28and based on the
22:29information they took
22:31for the missing report
22:32they believed it to be
22:33this male that was found
22:34on Wednesday.
22:44The point of contact
22:45will be his brother
22:46and I've just made
22:47a phone call to him
22:48to ask him
22:49if he's willing
22:50to come to the hospital
22:51to assist with doing
22:52a formal identification.
23:04When we go through
23:05if you can just confirm
23:06that yes
23:06it is John
23:07and then
23:08once that's done
23:09I'll come back out
23:09and I'll leave you
23:10to spend some time with him.
23:11Okay.
23:11Is that okay?
23:12Yeah.
23:13Are you all going through together?
23:14Yeah.
23:16Okay.
23:26Yeah that's John.
23:27Yeah.
23:29So that's John yeah?
23:30Yeah.
23:31Okay.
23:32So if I leave you now
23:33to spend a bit of time with him.
23:34Okay.
23:39You're all right Lise.
23:40You're all right Lise.
23:40That was such a shame.
23:45I was going to do a bit like that.
23:47We'll find out won't we?
23:48I don't know.
23:49We'll find out.
23:51Come on.
23:53I was going to do a bit like that.
23:54We need to go.
23:56Come on Lise.
23:57We'll find out.
24:07The next stage now
24:09will be
24:09that now I've got the form of identification
24:11I'll do an email to the coroner
24:13to confirm that
24:14yourself has identified John to me
24:16and then we can progress
24:17to the next stage
24:18which will be the CT post-mortem.
24:23Does John have any middle names?
24:25No.
24:26So it's just John Hutton?
24:28Yeah.
24:31It's probably one of the most difficult things
24:33that you have to do
24:33is to do a formal identification
24:35but we'll do our best
24:36to try and find out
24:37how he's going to be there for you.
24:38Okay.
24:39Yeah.
24:39All right.
25:03The police are still investigating
25:05the circumstances
25:06around Frank Brimley's
25:08last night out.
25:10What I'm looking at here
25:11is CCTV
25:13from the Conservative Club
25:15at Leyland.
25:17Graham comes out
25:17and sits on a low wall
25:19outside the club
25:20and then he's joined by Frank
25:21and it looks like
25:22they're possibly waiting for a taxi
25:23and they sit there
25:25for a good 15-20 minutes
25:26before they both get up
25:27and they both walk off
25:29through Leyland Town Centre
25:30and then we next pick them up
25:32on camera
25:32on West Paddock
25:33outside Leyland Civic Centre.
25:37I'm trying to establish
25:38whether there was any problems
25:39that night
25:39whether he got involved
25:40in any disputes
25:41whether there was any fights
25:42with anyone
25:42whether there was any arguments
25:43with anyone
25:43was he assaulted
25:45before he was found in the road.
25:48The next bit of footage
25:50is from a private residence
25:52on West Paddock at Leyland.
25:54You wouldn't be able to identify them
25:56from the footage
25:56if it wasn't for Graham's footwear
25:59because he has a nice bright
26:00white pair of trainers on.
26:02They walk along here
26:03and it's just about
26:04as they go into the shadows
26:05on the top left-hand corner here
26:07that they go off camera
26:09for about four minutes
26:12and it's that period of time
26:14where we don't really know
26:15what's happened to them.
26:16It's just too dark
26:18to see them.
26:34Now that John Hutton
26:36has been identified
26:37the coroner must find out
26:39how he died.
26:41Yesterday I met family
26:42at the mortuary
26:43to do the formal identification
26:45of the unidentified male
26:46that was found last Wednesday.
26:48Family has confirmed
26:49it is that of John Hutton.
26:51So I'm just going over
26:52to the mortuary now
26:54to attach the new wristbands
26:55to John
26:57so they can marry everything up
26:58ready for the CT scan
26:59to be done this afternoon.
27:17John and me
27:18it was love at first sight.
27:20I was 16
27:22and John was 20.
27:24He was my first boyfriend
27:26and we've been together
27:27for 35 years.
27:31I knew that he was going to be
27:33the one for me though
27:34you know John.
27:35We'd be together forever.
27:40I feel guilty
27:41that I wasn't with him
27:43you know when he died.
27:46I would have rather
27:47been with him.
27:52Because I'm staying
27:53with my mum
27:54it's probably easier
27:56for me to keep going
27:57you know
27:59because I'm not on my own.
28:03A few times
28:04Caroline said
28:05they were in town
28:06and perhaps
28:06they'd lost each other
28:09and he would go
28:10to his friends
28:10for a couple of nights
28:11and then come back
28:13you know
28:13and Caroline didn't think
28:15anything of it
28:16this time
28:17when that happened
28:18when he didn't come back.
28:20But I'd seen this article
28:21in the paper earlier
28:22about a missing person
28:24they were trying
28:24to identify
28:26the police
28:26trying to find
28:27who this person was.
28:30I never thought
28:31it was John.
28:33I couldn't work out
28:34why John
28:34was found
28:36with just a t-shirt on
28:37and where'd he been
28:39all night
28:39and he'd gone out
28:41on Tuesday
28:41and he'd had
28:42a jacket on.
28:44Just a bit
28:45of a mystery really.
28:47John Hutton
28:48received emergency
28:49treatment
28:50both at the scene
28:51and in hospital
28:52before he died.
28:54Now he is having
28:55a post-mortem CT scan
28:57in the iGene
28:58scanning suite.
29:00Preston is one
29:01of the few places
29:02in the country
29:02who use a digital
29:04CT scanner
29:05designed to give
29:06a cause of death
29:07without the need
29:08for an invasive
29:09post-mortem.
29:11We found
29:12a pneumothorax
29:13which is a collapsed
29:14lung
29:15on the left side
29:16of his chest
29:17however he has
29:18had a chest drain
29:19inserted
29:19which we can also
29:20see on the scan.
29:23That's the pneumothorax
29:25and then just
29:26coming in here
29:28just this bit
29:29is the chest drain.
29:31Also
29:32this white blob
29:33you can see here
29:34that's a little bit
29:35of calcium
29:36in his right coronary artery
29:38so we will be doing
29:39a calcium score
29:40on him.
29:50In the Frank Brimley case
29:52the coroner
29:53has to gather
29:53as much evidence
29:54as possible
29:55to establish
29:56how he died.
29:58Police have asked
30:00for a statement
30:00from the first person
30:01on the scene
30:02that night.
30:08They were just
30:08exactly on this area
30:10you know
30:10so Graham was
30:11just over there
30:12and he was sitting
30:13on, Frank was
30:14sitting on this side
30:17and they could have been
30:18run over
30:18you know
30:19because he was like
30:20halfway into this
30:21side of the road
30:24and I don't know
30:24it was terrifying
30:26you know
30:26when I saw them
30:27you know
30:28like on the floor
30:29so I was just thinking
30:31what's going on
30:34but by the time
30:35I put them in the car
30:36there was a police lady
30:37there
30:38so she just tried
30:39to you know
30:39ask their names
30:41and stuff
30:43Frank
30:47I didn't realise
30:49on any point
30:50you know
30:50he's not going to
30:52make it
30:52or he's going to
30:52die
30:53you know
30:56Frank was
30:57deteriorating
30:58so an ambulance
30:59was called
30:59before it came
31:01another officer
31:02arrived on the scene
31:05I'm an operational
31:07firearms commander
31:08for Lancashire Police
31:09and because I'm
31:11an armed officer
31:11that's why I would
31:12have to withhold
31:13my identity
31:15we were at another
31:16incident involving
31:17a group of men
31:19fighting with hammers
31:19in a neighbouring town
31:20but it's on the same
31:21radio channel
31:23as this incident
31:24with Mr Brimley
31:26we've laid out
31:27coats and blankets
31:28on the floor
31:29and I've seen
31:30that his oxygen levels
31:31are very low
31:32and his heart rate
31:33is very high
31:34pouring him
31:35in the recovery
31:36position
31:37and keeping him
31:38warm
31:38resolved his oxygen
31:40levels
31:40and steadied
31:42his heart rate
31:43it's okay
31:45it's okay
31:47just relax
31:52just relax
31:53for me
31:53I'm talking to him
31:55because I know
31:56that he can hear me
31:57he can hear
31:58everything that's going
31:59on
31:59all our conversations
32:01and I'm asking him
32:02to move
32:03his right hand
32:04and you can see
32:05his hand
32:06his right hand
32:07slightly moving
32:09I knew he was
32:10seriously ill
32:11at this point
32:13you go there
32:14to keep someone alive
32:16you've done
32:17everything you can
32:19sometimes
32:19it's just
32:21not enough
32:34the coroner's officer
32:36is calling
32:36John Hutton's brother
32:37to update the family
32:39with the possible
32:39cause of death
32:46the coroner's officer
32:48okay
32:48I'm just going to let you know
32:49the results of the CT
32:50post-mortem
32:51have come back
32:52what they've said is
32:53there is a degree
32:53of coronary artery disease
32:55but they're going to
32:56await the results
32:57of the toxicology
32:58before giving their
32:59final cause of death
33:01so
33:02the results of the
33:03toxicology
33:04probably won't come back
33:04for about 10 to 12 weeks
33:09the coroner has ordered
33:11tests to establish
33:12whether any substances
33:14contributed to John's death
33:17there are so many
33:18unanswered questions
33:19about you know
33:20what led to his disappearance
33:21and where had he been
33:22in that time
33:23you know it was
33:25it was a very cold night
33:26it was wet
33:27he wasn't dressed
33:31appropriately
33:31he was
33:32t-shirt and
33:33jogging pants
33:38he was my younger brother
33:39so
33:40it was my responsibility
33:41to look after him
33:42and
33:43certainly in the
33:44in the earlier years
33:45you know
33:46tried to
33:47help John
33:48guide him
33:50but
33:50again
33:51something about John
33:52he
33:52he had his own mind
33:54and he had his own ways
33:55and
33:56certainly
33:56substances
33:57let's say
33:58and alcohol
33:58were
33:59you know
33:59part of that
34:02I did expect
34:03something like this
34:04for John
34:05in fact I guess
34:08I guess one of the surprises
34:10it didn't happen
34:11sooner
34:13to me
34:13that was probably the only surprise
34:31I'm going to do like a little memorial garden
34:34so this is where the canopy is going to go
34:36so it's sheltered
34:38and Frank's
34:39Frank's ashes will be there
34:47Frank's friend Graham
34:49is still unable to remember the events leading to Frank's death
34:56the lady in the conservative club says she came outside to smoke
34:59and you were sitting on the wall
35:01and that's what she said
35:02it was before 12 o'clock
35:03but we can't understand what happened between 12
35:06and almost 2
35:07when he got to Wayne
35:08because she wasn't that far away from the club
35:10no
35:11Sue came to me
35:12and A&E rang to say
35:14wasn't it
35:15it was about 10 to 2
35:16yeah
35:17yeah and obviously then
35:18Sue just come and said
35:19she hadn't got much sense out of
35:20yeah
35:21she said you
35:22obviously you were drunk
35:23and then obviously when I rang you and A&E
35:25it wasn't much better
35:26but we were confused
35:27whether it was your alcohol
35:28or had you had a bang to the head
35:30yeah I actually
35:31I actually said to you
35:32didn't I
35:33that I thought
35:33had you been jumped
35:34had somebody attacked you both
35:36you said to me when I rang you
35:38no
35:39yeah you'd have been
35:40you'd have had more damage than that wouldn't you
35:42well you don't know do you
35:43well you don't know
35:44we've got so many questions that
35:45it would just be nice to get some answers
35:52it's harder for us
35:53and it's frustrating for us
35:54because Graham can't remember
35:57you know
35:57and we want him to remember
35:59you know
36:00and little bits are coming back out
36:02so we've got to rely on
36:04CTV cameras
36:05and you're trying to build a picture
36:06of what's happened
36:07and so we're hoping
36:08that the inquest
36:09have got all the answers
36:11to our questions
36:13because that's the only way
36:14we're ever going to
36:14find out I think
36:34good morning coroner's office
36:35Alice speaking
36:35Alice can I just give you a quick update
36:38on the Frank Brimley death please
36:40we've recovered the CCTV
36:42from the town centre
36:43and I have of the mind
36:45that we're not looking at any kind of foul play
36:47or third party involvement
36:49that's perfect
36:50that's fine
36:53the police investigation
36:54into Frank Brimley's case
36:56has ended
36:57with no criminal element
36:58but because it is not clear
37:01how he has died
37:02there will be an inquest
37:03to determine the cause of death
37:06it will be held at the coroner's court
37:08in Preston
37:11the ultimate aim of today
37:13is to answer four questions
37:14who's died
37:15where and when the death occurred
37:17and how the death occurred
37:19how the death occurred
37:20is the more difficult question
37:22in this case
37:23we don't have any evidence
37:24of whether he fell
37:25or whether or not
37:27he had a stroke
37:27if he falls
37:29that's an accidental death
37:30if he has had a stroke
37:31that is a natural death
37:34Mr Raymond
37:35super
37:35do you want to come in
37:36I'll take you upstairs
37:43so what will happen is
37:44the coroner will open up the inquest
37:47he'll call the witnesses up
37:48one by one
37:50once all the witnesses have been heard
37:51the coroner will do a summing up
37:53of all the information he's heard
37:54in the inquest
37:55before giving his conclusion
37:57right I'm going to have to get you to call
37:59because I know the coroner's key
38:00to start at 10
38:23my condolences to all of Mr Brimley's friends
38:25and goddaughters
38:26and I'm sorry that you're attending court
38:28under these circumstances
38:30could you tell me your full name please
38:32and the position you hold
38:33yes my name is Gregory John Hall
38:35I'm a consultant neurosurgeon
38:36at the Royal Preston Hospital
38:38when we looked at the CT scan
38:39although he has a blood clot in the brain
38:41it's not particularly big
38:42and if this were all caused by a head injury
38:45I wouldn't have expected him
38:46to have had such a severe weakness
38:48of the left hand side
38:50I think the cause of death
38:51is probably that he's had a stroke
38:54so can I just clarify
38:55that you believe
38:56he had a stroke
38:57and that caused the bleed
38:58it wasn't a trauma
39:00that caused the stroke
39:02yes
39:02I think that's right
39:07what I propose to record
39:09is that Frank Brimley
39:10sustained a spontaneous stroke
39:12and was admitted
39:13to Royal Preston Hospital
39:14where he died
39:15on the 22nd of November
39:182021
39:25I was really worried
39:26about what the outcome
39:27was going to be
39:29if I hadn't have gone up
39:30that weekend
39:31he could have still died
39:32in the flat on his own
39:34and that would have been
39:35you know
39:35that would have been catastrophic
39:36although he still died
39:38you know
39:38that was a relief to me
39:39that I didn't
39:40sort of
39:42contribute to it
39:59toxicology results
40:00have taken 12 weeks
40:01to come back
40:02for John Hutton
40:04there is evidence
40:05for the potentially
40:06fatal use of amphetamines
40:08there's also evidence
40:10of the antidepressant
40:11fluoxetine
40:12the combination
40:13of the fluoxetine
40:15and the amphetamine
40:16increases the risk
40:17of the serotonin syndrome
40:19serotonin syndrome
40:20happens when you have
40:22too much serotonin
40:23which is a normal chemical
40:24that your body produces
40:25and it's usually caused
40:27by taking drugs
40:28or medications
40:28that affect your serotonin levels
40:32it can cause confusion
40:34it can cause seizures
40:35and it can cause
40:36a very high body temperature
40:38that's ultimately
40:39led to his death
40:50I've been doing this job
40:52for 18 years now
40:54I've never come across
40:55serotonin syndrome before
40:57this is a first
40:58it's the very unusual reaction
41:01between a prescribed drug
41:03and a social drug
41:05and the body heats up
41:06until the brain gets so hot
41:08that it doesn't function
41:09and you collapse
41:10and die
41:12John's running a risk
41:13that he didn't know
41:14the risk was even there
41:23he was a good brother
41:25there were lots of good times
41:26he was a character
41:27and he was pretty wild
41:30since John's death really
41:31I mean my thoughts
41:32have been more about
41:33remembering the
41:34I guess the younger years
41:36when things were better
41:39I think he had a good soul
41:40really
41:42I sort of like
41:43talked to him
41:44you know
41:46I just say
41:47I miss you
41:48and I love you
41:49things like that
41:51yeah
41:52cause he did look after me
41:55you know a lot
41:56he did
41:56he could
41:58and I'll never forget him
42:01never
42:48honestly
42:48I don't think I've ever seen the beach here
42:50so calm
42:51no nor me
42:51I've never seen it empty like this either
42:54it's very peaceful
42:55very very peaceful
42:57it is very nice
43:00I'll keep speaking to him
43:01as if he's actually sat there
43:03well he is
43:04you'd love all this attention
43:06wouldn't you
43:06yeah
43:07like you say
43:08I wish it was him
43:09but
43:09I know
43:13the funeral was a nice day
43:14we paid plenty of tributes
43:16to him that we could
43:17he had us
43:18obviously asked for a lot of requests
43:19bizarrely
43:20and we carried out
43:21all his requests
43:22that we could
43:23hence us being here today
43:24putting his final celebration
43:26to plan
43:30we made a promise to him
43:32we loved him
43:33we wanted to do
43:34what he asked us to do
43:37we wouldn't have let him down
43:39and I hope we've done you proud
43:40and I'm sure we have
43:41I'm sure he'd be so proud of us
44:07so the shock
44:09hit me first
44:10hit me first
44:11and somebody broke in
44:12and somebody hurt him
44:13it's like a mystery
44:15so really young
44:17yeah
44:17and suddenly found dead
44:18in a bath full of water
44:20yeah
44:23just see a dark line
44:25across here
44:26so that's a rake
44:27in top part of her neck
44:30it's difficult
44:31I don't think I'll ever get over it
44:42goodnight
44:44you