Extradition fears led loving father to take life

Thursday 28 March 2019

A loving father took his own life over fears he would be extradited back to his native Poland due to previous troubles with the police after seeing the same happen to a friend, his partner has said.

The woman, who is the mother of the man’s child, made the comments during an inquest into his death held this week.

Held at Morier House (pictured), the inquest heard how the 30-year-old was found collapsed in his flat and was rushed to the Emergency Department in October last year, having taken an overdose of between 50 and 100 co-codamol tablets.

He then died in the intensive care unit (ICU) three days later.

Dr Paul Hughes, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care who was part of the team who treated him, described the man’s case as “extremely tragic and complex”. He said staff regretted not being able to save his life, despite doing everything they could. 

Dr Hughes explained said that over the course of the three days the man spent in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), his state gradually deteriorated to the extent the medical team thought no further treatment would be of benefit. 

The team spoke to the family and a decision was made not to resuscitate and the man died surrounded by his family and close friends, three days after being admitted to hospital.

Pictured: The 30-year-old man died in the hospital three days after he had taken an overdose of cocodamol.

The Police Coroner’s Officer, Tony Forder, told the inquest that officers had found empty blister packs and unused loose tablets in the man’s flat. He said officers couldn’t say exactly how many tablets there had been, but that they estimated the man had taken between 50 and 100. 

The man was still conscious when he was brought to the hospital and told a police officer he had taken the tablets to “stop the pain”. 

In a statement given to Police, the man’s partner explained why she believed he might have taken his own life. 

Having seen five people being extradited from Jersey back to Poland to face the law there, including a close friend, the man had grown concerned that the same would happen to him, even though the police hadn't been in touch with him. 

Having had trouble with the police in Poland before moving to Jersey, the man grew increasingly stressed, struggling to sleep.

Pictured: The man was worried about the possibility of being extradited.

He also started barricading his door at night to prevent Police from raiding his home.

The man, whom his partner said was alcohol-dependent, had never spoken of suicide, but he sometimes would tell her that their family, which was described by a relative as “happy, perfectly normal,” would be “better off without him”.

“He was a great guy and a great father,” the woman said. “He was a hard worker, full with energy, although he struggled with alcohol. I loved him very much, all the time I was trying to help him.” 

The Coroner concluded that the man died from complications resulting from his overdose, before expressing condolences to the family.