A young man who was last seen by his friend two days before his death, died of a drugs overdose, an inquest has heard.
Ryan McShane, 24, was found in his bedroom by his mother, Donna, and two of his friends, when they became concerned that they could not contact him.
An ambulance was called shortly after Ryan's body was discovered and paramedics confirmed he had died.
Preston Coroner’s Court heard how on the afternoon of Friday, March 17, Ryan went for a doctor’s appointment before visiting his mother and then his friend, Michael Gibbs.
While with Mr Gibbs, they discussed drug use.
At around 1pm on Sunday, March 19, Ms McShane, along with Mr Gibbs, attended Ryan’s flat in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, after she had been unable to get any response from her son.
They were unable to access the flat, so Mr Gibbs and another friend went to Ms McShane’s house to get the spare key, but they were unable to use it as there was another key in the lock on the other side.
Eventually they forced entry and Ryan was found on his bed.
Detective Inspector Stephen Slater said he was not aware of any concerns around third-party involvement in Ryan's death.
A toxicology report by Dr Steph Martin at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals concluded there was evidence of heroin and diazepam in McShane’s system.
The findings also suggested there was heroin use shortly before his death.
Concluding, area Coroner Chris Long said: “The evidence suggests he had some history with taking drugs. I have considered that the postmortem has not identified any natural cause of death. The combination of drugs is likely to have increased the toxic effects.
“I am satisfied the totality of what was in his system has unfortunately combined together and caused his death.
“Because I have found a combination of drugs has caused Ryan’s death, I am going to record a medical cause of multi-drug toxicity.
“Ryan McShane was found deceased on March 19, 2023, at his home address. Mr McShane had a history of taking illicit substances and died as a result of the combination of drugs found in his system.”
A drug related death conclusion was offered and Mr Long finished by passing his condolences onto Ryan's family.
Share