'Silent killer' claimed father's life in "tragic accident"

Thursday 15 August 2019

A father remembered as “the life and soul of the party” passed away in a "tragic accident" following exposure to carbon monoxide as he worked on his car radio in a closed garage, an inquest has concluded.

31-year-old hotel gardener Fermin Cláudio Freitas da Câmara was believed to be running the engine to keep warm when he “succumbed” to the toxic fumes of the colourless and odourless gas, which is often referred to as the 'silent killer', in October last year.

The finding came in an inquest into the precise circumstances of the father-of-one's death held at Morier House (pictured top) today, presided over by Deputy Viscount Advocate Mark Harris, acting as Coroner.

The inquest heard that Mr Câmara worked as a gardener at the Merton Hotel, but a missing persons investigation was launched when his friends and family hadn’t heard from him, he didn’t show up for work and couldn’t be found at his home address between 25 and 27 October last year.

Pictured: The car had been running in a closed garage.

Summarising the investigation, Police Coroner’s Officer Tony Forder said that Mr Câmara was working on the vehicle “without realising the tremendous danger he was putting himself in by running the car in a closed garage.”

It was heard that the 31-year-old was working on fixing up a Subaru car and, in the week of his death, had borrowed the keys to a friend’s garage so that he could work on it. It was here that he was found on the evening of 27 October 2018.

Mr Forder confirmed that there is “no evidence of suicide in this case”, adding that it was “very clear from the scene that Fermin was actively working on the car when he died.” 

Pictured: Police Coroner's Officer Tony Forder investigated this case.

The inquest also heard evidence from Dr Miklos Perenyei, Consultant Histopathologist at the Jersey Hospital, who carried out the post-mortem examination on Mr Câmara. He told the Coroner that he found 82% saturation of carbon monoxide in the deceased’s bloodstream. 

With anything over 50% considered “lethal”, he remarked that the level found in this case was “very high”, but assured members of Mr Câmara’s family and friends present at the hearing that his death would have been “absolutely painless.”

A statement from one of Mr Câmara’s close friends described him as “a clever bloke with a good heart”, fondly remembering that he was “the life and soul of the party” and that he loved his young child “deeply.” 

Pictured: The inquest took place in Morier House.

“He was a thinker and quite strong-willed,” the statement continued, adding that the gardener was a “good friend” and that “he will be missed by many people.”

Evidence from a Crime Scene Investigator who examined the vehicle suggested that Mr Câmara was running the car to keep himself warm as he worked.

Drawing the inquest to a close, Advocate Harris described the man’s passing as “untimely” and ruled that the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Coroner then expressed his sympathies to those who knew Mr Câmara, saying: “All that remains is for me to say to Fermin’s family and friends how very sorry I am for your loss.”