Open verdict recorded following 'shocking' death of young Limerick man

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AN OPEN verdict was recorded at the inquest of a young man whose death was live-streamed on a social media platform.

Handing down his verdict the Limerick coroner John McNamara said what happened was “quite shocking” and very unusual.

The inquest was told gardai became aware of concerns for the young man’s welfare, earlier that evening, after a woman contacted them while watching the live-stream.

Having attended a location in a rural part of County Limerick, they located the body of the man, who was aged in his early 20s. A mobile phone was also recovered at the scene. 

The inquest heard the young man had been interacting with a number of people on different social media platforms in the hours leading up to his death and that he was on a live video chat with a number of people when he died.

One woman who was on the call told gardai the man appeared “agitated and upset” on the night.

A post mortem examination, which was carried out at University Hospital Limerick, showed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system.

Pathologist, Dr Gabor Laskai, said the cause of death was asphyxiation due to hanging.

Having considered the evidence, the coroner said he had to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt to return a verdict of suicide and that he was “not convinced” it was the appropriate verdict.

“He may have been messing around, it may have been a prank that went wrong,” he commented.

Following the conclusion of the inquest, Inspector Pat Brennan confirmed a number of recordings of the video had been destroyed and that it cannot be viewed online.

If you have been affected by the preceding story contact any of the following organisations.

Samaritans: 116 123 or email [email protected]

Console: 1800 247 247

Aware: 1800 80 48 48

Pieta: 01 601 0000 or email [email protected]