Dad-of-two found dead at flat by neighbour after misuse of drugs

An inquest at Portsmouth Coroners Court on Wednesday heard that 37-year-old John Bailey, previously known as John Grist and also known as Rocky, was found dead in his ground-floor flat by a neighbour on Sunday, August 28.

Lyn Wilson, who had known Mr Bailey for 10 years, went to his flat in Skipper Way, Lee-on-the-Solent after Mr Bailey’s partner Tia Rigby, who lives on the Isle of Wight with their two children, rang with her concerns after not hearing from him.

After finding the flat windows open, Mrs Wilson climbed through and discovered Mr Bailey dead.

Detective Constable Carla-Marie Moore told the court that police arrived to find Mr Bailey’s body naked on the hallway floor with a recent needle puncture wound on his right arm and older track marks on his arms and legs.

Coroner David Horsley heard that Mr Bailey had a history of heroin use, and he was currently on methadone programme. Mr Bailey also had ADHD, hypomania, bad knees due to a bike accident, diabetes, infections and abscesses on his legs and he was taking anti-depressants.

A pathologist report found that Mr Bailey had not been using heroin at the time of his death but it did find a fatal level of methadone, combined with diazepam and infected ulcers on his legs.

Mr Bailey, who was unemployed but had worked at Stansted Airport, was last seen on Friday, August 26 at Tesco Express in Lee-on-the-Solent by another neighbour who said Mr Bailey was acting ‘out of it,’ without a top on.

Ms Rigby said she had last spoken to him on the Wednesday before and he had told her that he was not feeling well.

She said: ‘He wanted to get some bed rest. He wanted to go out at the weekend as it was the holidays and he wanted to take me and the kids out.’

Mr Horsley said: ‘My conclusion is that Rocky has died from a misuse of drugs. I am awfully sorry. It is a waste of a life.’

Mr Bailey’s mother Karen Riding, from the Isle of Wight, was at the inquest. She said: ‘I just loved him so much.’