Man on boat died in mysterious circumstances

A YOUNG man who was rebuilding his life after release from prison died in mysterious circumstances on a boat moored at a city quay, an inquest was told yesterday.

Cork Coroner’s Court heard how the body of John Casey, 23, from Glencree Crescent in Mayfield, Cork, was found on board a 27ft fishing boat moored at Horgan’s Quay late on August 31, 2006.

Mr Casey had been released from prison in May and was making a fresh start with his girlfriend, Nora Harty, in their flat on the Lower Glanmire Road, just a few hundred yards from where he was found dead.

The boat’s owner, Michael Smith, told the inquest that no one had permission to be on board the vessel on which he lives.

However, the inquest was unable to establish whether Mr Casey fell from the quay onto the boat or fell while already on board the vessel.

There were no signs of disturbance and nothing was missing from the boat.

Ms Harty told the inquest that Mr Casey left their flat on the morning of August 31 to go to the South Infirmary to get treatment for self-inflicted razor blade wounds to his chest.

But garda investigations established that although Mr Casey went to the hospital, he never received medical treatment there.

He left the hospital in the company of a male who has never been identified.

Despite a trawl through footage from the garda CCTV network, Inspector Joe Moore said gardaí were unable to trace Mr Casey’s movements between the time he left his home, and the time his body was found on the boat that evening.

There is no CCTV coverage in the Horgan’s Quay area, he said.

Mr Smith said he left the quay at about 12.45pm to spend the day in the city. But when he returned to the boat in darkness just after 9pm, he stood on what he thought was a bag of rubbish.

“I felt my foot on something soft. But when I felt around, I felt it was a body,” he said.

Emergency services discovered Mr Casey’s body lying on its back on the boat’s open deck, about 14 feet below the quay surface.

Gardaí treated the death as suspicious and immediately sealed off the scene for technical inspection.

Garda Alan Crowley said examinations the following morning revealed no signs of assault and foul play was ruled out.

Assistant state pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, said the cause of death was complex.

Mr Casey had 288 mg of alcohol in his blood — 355mg is a fatal level.

But he also fell backwards striking the back of his head.

His body came to rest in a tight spot and in a very awkward position, with his head and feet elevated.

The high level of alcohol, the head injury and this “positional asphyxia” all contributed to his death, Dr Bolster’s report said.

Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane recorded a verdict of death due to misadventure.

She also said that the Horgan’s Quay area is one of the most common areas for deaths in the city.