Drinking victim’s mother absolves friend

The mother of a man who died after playing the online drinking game NekNominate wept as she said he would still be alive if he had not taken part in the craze.

However, Melissa Richardson told the inquest into the death of her son Isaac, 20, that she did not blame the friend who had nominated him.

Richardson collapsed unconscious after downing a 1.5litre cocktail of alcohol at the hostel where he worked in Woolwich, south-east London, in February. He died later in hospital.

His mother told Southwark Coroner’s Court: “We feel very strongly that it is no one’s fault. He would not have wanted anyone to be singled out or blamed for something that was his decision.

“I don’t blame his friend who nominated him or the friends who were with him that evening. It is a comfort to know he was not alone.”

However, in an earlier statement referred to in court, she said: “If it were not for this craze and his nomination, my son would still be alive.”

The NekNominate game involves participants filming themselves downing alcohol, nominating someone to continue the game, and posting the video on Facebook. It became an online craze earlier this year after originating in Australia and has seen players consuming alcohol with dog food, engine oil, and live goldfish.

The inquest heard that Richardson consumed an estimated 30 units of alcohol when he drank a 1.5-litre mixture of rose wine, vodka, beer, and whiskey from a pitcher “in one go” in two minutes after asking a friend to film him on a smartphone.

He collapsed and fell unconscious minutes later and died at hospital in the early hours of February 9 despite the efforts of paramedics and people at the hostel to resuscitate him.

Pathology tests found a “very high” amount of alcohol in his body which was “within the range to induce a coma”, the court heard.

The court heard Richardson was one of three people nominated on Facebook by his friend Ross Burton.

In a statement read by the coroner, Burton said: “I confirm at no point did I tell anyone what to drink. The first time I found out about the drinks Isaac had drunk was through the papers.”

Detective Sergeant Roy Black said the death was not suspicious and no crime had been committed.

The court heard the nomination was made without any “pressure or force” and Richardson took part “of his own volition”. Coroner Dr Andrew Harris said there was “no question of any unlawful action”.

Richardson was found to have died of acute alcohol intoxication, and Harris recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Harris praised Mrs Richardson’s “courage and objectivity” in saying that she did not blame anyone for her son’s death.