Man died in Eastbourne hotel after taking mix of drugs

A 38-year-old man died in an Eastbourne hotel after taking a mixture of drugs less than three weeks after coming out of custody in prison, an inquest heard. 

Stephen Carr, a landscape gardener, had been staying at The Ellesmere in Wilmington Square in the same room as his stepfather without the knowledge of the authorities. 

Tony Carr, his stepfather, who is in his 70s, was being temporarily housed by Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) in The Ellesmere while a bed bug infestation was dealt with where he lived in Whitehawk, Brighton. 

Paramedics attend

The inquest heard that they were watching a film and Tony Carr fell asleep. When he woke in the morning, Stephen was not in the room. He found him slumped in the toilet at about 8am on 28 April. Paramedics attended but Stephen was declared dead. 

Tony Carr had been housed at The Ellesmere for about two months. Stephen had moved into the room with him after being released from custody in Lewes Prison on 4 April. He had been held there since 18 February. 

BHCC housing lawyer Simon Court told the inquest in Lewes on Tuesday (21 October) that the council was not aware Stephen was living with his stepfather in Eastbourne.

He said it had been intended as a short-term placement for Tony while the infestation was dealt with due to the lack of availability of housing in Brighton & Hove. 

East Sussex coroner Fiona King commented that it was strange Tony Carr had not told BHCC that his son had come out of prison.  

Mr Court said 19% of Brighton’s homeless placements were out of the area compared with the national average among councils of 30% out of area.

Homeless sent to Eastbourne  

Eastbourne was the most common place to send people to, he said. “A lot of these hotels are set up specifically to take people who are homeless,” added Mr Court. 

A post-mortem examination showed traces of recent recreational cocaine use and a mixture of other drugs. Stephen was suffering from emphysema and had suffered a heart attack after taking the drugs mix. 

A police statement read at the inquest said officers found a crack pipe near Stephen’s pillow and a small, empty bottle of methadone in the room but no other signs of drug use. 

Family statement

A statement from his sister to the inquest said he had started using drugs at the age of 14 and was a heroin addict by the time he was 21. She said she thought he may not have realised the effect the drugs would have had on him after eight weeks in custody.  

“I don’t believe he would have taken his own life. He got on with things and did the best he could,” she said. 

The coroner said Stephen’s recent release from prison and the drugs he took had possibly depleted his breathing ability and caused heart arrhythmia. 

She concluded that his death was a result of a mixture of different toxic drugs.

:: An inquest also took place yesterday into the death of Daniel Ginsberg at The Ellesmere. Read my full report here.