A post-mortem showed that young student Wayne Hegarty, 20, had died from cardiac arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat) arrest due to cocaine toxicity
Wayne Hegarty(Image: rip.ie)
A coroner has warned that there is no safe quantity of cocaine that can be consumed following the death of a young Dublin man two years ago from an overdose of the drug.
A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard that Wayne Hegarty, 20, was found dead in the attic of his home at Foxhill Avenue, Donaghmede, Dublin 13 on December 17, 2023. A post-mortem showed the young student had died from cardiac arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat) arrest due to cocaine toxicity.
Although the quantity of cocaine in the deceased’s body was not particularly high, coroner Cróna Gallagher remarked that it was still at a level which could cause death. “Cocaine can affect the heart. There is no safe dose,” Dr Gallagher stated.
The deceased’s mother, Grace Hegarty, told the hearing that her son was in a good mood when she was leaving her home to go to stay with her partner on Saturday, December 16, 2023. Ms Hegarty said she had also spoken to him by phone that evening when she asked him to be sure to move around the “Elf on the Shelf” at home.
She told the coroner that it was unusual that Wayne did not phone her the following morning as he usually did, which she thought “a bit odd”. Ms Hegarty returned to her home later but was unable to get in as the door was locked.
The inquest heard she went back to her partner’s house as she thought her son must still be asleep. However, she became worried when she was still unable to get him on his phone later that afternoon.
“I had a gut feeling there was something wrong,” she recalled. Ms Hegarty said she returned to Foxhill Avenue at around 5.30pm with her partner, Stephen Ward, where they had to break a pane in the front door to gain entry to the house.
The inquest heard that Mr Ward went upstairs and found the ceilings collapsed in two bedrooms before discovering his partner’s son in the attic. He gave evidence of finding Wayne’s body draped over a joist in the unfloored attic.
In reply to questions from the coroner, Ms Hegarty said she knew her son had smoked weed and she suspected he might also have been experimenting with other drugs like cocaine. However, she said Wayne would not discuss the issue with her.
While he had suffered from depression and mood swings in the past, Ms Hegarty said he had been “doing great” over the previous 18 months. She said Wayne had been a bit bothered with the stigma of being diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and he had discontinued taking drugs to treat the condition as they did not suit him.
Wayne’s cousin, Seán Bannon, gave evidence that he had been playing computer games remotely with the deceased the evening before his body was discovered. Mr Bannon said his cousin was in a good mood and wanted him to call over to his house for a few drinks but he had declined.
He recalled that Wayne was not online at around 2am, which was not unusual as both would drop out of playing at various times. Sometime later, Mr Bannon said he got a call from Wayne’s phone where his cousin said nothing but he could hear heavy breathing. Mr Bannon said he tried calling him back but Wayne did not answer.
He told the coroner that he knew his cousin had tried cocaine but did not believe he had taken the drug that night. Returning a verdict of death by misadventure, Dr Gallagher said there was no evidence that the deceased had any intention of harming himself.
Offering her condolences to his family on their tragic loss, the coroner said the verdict reflected the fact that he had died as a result of an unintended consequence of an action with a risk factor.
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