Bathing pool drowning was “tragic accident”

Wednesday 06 July 2022

The death of a woman found face down in Victoria Bathing Pool in May was “not suspicious” but a “tragic accident”, an inquest concluded today.

Advocate Cyril Whelan, Coroner, deemed that Diane Mona McHale (57) died as a result of "drowning" which occurred "at a time when her mental and physical states were impaired by effects of alcohol".

Police Liaison Officer Sam Rawlinson described it as a "tragic accident".

Ms McHale had been visiting her fiancé in Jersey from Ireland during the bank holiday weekend in May this year. The pair were childhood friends who had recently reconnected, and had been been dating for two years.

The couple were out for lunch on Monday 2 May, where Ms McHale consumed a few glasses of wine and was described as "tipsy but not drunk". She later continued drinking at her fiancé's home until he left to start a work shift at around 17:00.

Around half an hour later, Ms McHale ventured down to the beach at Le Fregate alone. A witness described seeing Ms McHale "skipping towards the sea" having left her possessions further up the beach on the sand.

It was at around 18:00 that a tourist who was painting on the beach saw a woman "dressed all in white" floating face down in the bathing pool. Another person on the beach was alerted and Emergency Services were called. The Police, Fire and Rescue, Coastguard, and Ambulance services all came to help.

Ms McHale was pulled from the water and taken to the General Hospital. However, efforts to resuscitate her were sadly unsuccessful and she passed away a short while later.

Pathologist, Dr Bruce Lyons, found the cause of death to be "drowning" which happened at a time when Ms McHale's "mental and physical states were likely to have been impaired by the acute effects of alcohol". She had no previous medical conditions.

The toxicology report described Ms McHale's blood alcohol content as "significant", measuring "three times the driving limit" which equates to approximately "13 single measures of spirits" in an average-sized female.

Although Ms McHale was taking medication for depression at the time of her death, it was decided that this was unrelated to her cause of death, and that her drowning was instead a "tragic accident".

The last text message sent from Ms McHale's mobile phone stated that she was slightly drunk and ready to "come home now".

Advocate Whelan concluded the inquest by sharing his condolences.