Air Show drinks with friends ends in tragedy

Wednesday 17 July 2024

The inquest into the death of a "loving and fun" 30-year-old whose body was found on the beach at La Haule last year has concluded.

Relief coroner Advocate Cyril Whelan said yesterday that "acute alcohol intoxication" had contributed to the death of Ketevani 'Katie' Kasrashvili – with a post-mortem having shown a blood alcohol level around four-and-a-half times the legal limit for driving.

Police coroners officer Andy Bisson told the inquest Ms Kasrashvili had moved to Jersey from her native Georgia in 2022 to work in the hospitality industry and that on 14 September last year she had joined her boyfriend and a group of friends and work colleagues socialising at a Waterfront hotel while watching the Jersey Air Display.

The inquest heard that Ms Kasrashvili, known as Katie, had arrived at the Radisson Blu at around 12:30, consuming gin-and-tonics, white wine and prosecco across the next eight hours before leaving the hotel at 20:42.

Mr Bisson said Ms Kasrashvili had briefly returned to the flat at Castle Quay where she was living with her boyfriend, but was then recorded on CCTV at 22:00 as she left the building while carrying a bottle of spirits.

Pictured: Ketevani Kasrashvili moved to Jersey from her native Georgia in 2022.

The inquest heard that subsequent CCTV evidence showed Ms Kasrashvili stumbling along the beach past Le Frégate café and the West Park bathing pool, with the last footage timed at 02:00. Mr Bisson said she was spotted by a dog walker in the sea near La Haule just before 07:00, but that there had been no sign of life after she was pulled from the water, subsequently being pronounced dead by a paramedic.

In a statement, pathologist Dr Miklos Perenyei said he believed the "remarkable" alcohol level was equivalent to 19 single measures of spirits and likely to have "played a significant role" in the victim being incapacitated.

Ms Kasrashvili's absence was noticed at around 04:00 by her boyfriend, who said in a statement that he initially believed she had gone to stay with a friend.

Relief coroner Advocate Cyril Whelan found that the cause of death was “immersion in water and acute alcohol intoxication”, expressing his condolences to Ms Kasrashvili's brother David, who listened to the evidence via videolink, and the rest of her family.

In the aftermath of Ms Kasrashvili's death, islanders contributed more than £2,700 to an online fundraising campaign to help with the cost of returning her body to Georgia and funeral expenses.

She was remembered by friends close to her as someone who was "loving and fun".

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Pictured (top): the inquest took place at Morier House in St Helier.