A wealthy US businessman found hanging in his Bermuda guest apartment may have died by accident when a sexual experiment went wrong, an inquest has heard.

The theory about 35-year-old Peter Dimitri Pappas was raised by a world-renowned New York pathologist hired by his family.

The inquest heard that some people use a type of self-strangulation called auto-erotic asphyxia to achieve sexual climax, but end up accidentally killing themselves. However, in the opinion of a Bermuda-based pathologist who examined Mr. Pappas’ body after it was discovered, it is unlikely he died that way, and “highly probable” he committed suicide.

Mr. Pappas’ parents had previously told the media in both Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, where their son lived, that they believed he was murdered and did not commit suicide.

Cold water was thrown on this theory by both medical experts during the inquest yesterday, with them agreeing there was no evidence of homicide.

Coroner Juan Wolffe is conducting the probe, and must ultimately decide how Mr. Pappas met his death. The international businessman, who was based in Grand Cayman, was on a trip to Bermuda when his body was found hanging from two belts attached to a rail in the closet of his room at Brightside Guest Apartments, Flatts, on June 20, 2005.

The inquest heard from Brightside manager Michael Lightbourne that Mr. Pappas checked in on June 7, and seemed in good spirits in the days prior to his death, speaking of a wish to marry his girlfriend.

That girlfriend — whose name Mr. Lightbourne did not recall — reported on June 20 that she had not seen Mr. Pappas all day. When Mr. Lightbourne let himself into the guest apartment with a master key, he found the body.

A Police officer who searched Mr. Pappas’ room after the discovery found empty bottles of Miller Lite beer and a bottle of Champagne in the trash.

A Government analyst said tests on the body showed 208 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The drink-drive limit in Bermuda is 80 milligrams.

Hospital pathologist Dr. Vernon Bowes conducted an autopsy on Mr. Pappas in Bermuda on June 21. He told the inquest his conclusion was that he died of self-inflicted asphyxia — a medical term for loss of oxygen — due to hanging.

Dr. Bowes said Mr. Pappas had a washcloth wrapped around a belt encircling his neck, and that such padding is something “often present” in cases of sexual asphyxia. He described this as a practice by which some people put a ligature around their neck in a manner “which tends to apparently give a sexual climax or heightened response.” Those who practice it, he said, do not intend to die, but sometimes strangle themselves by accident.

In this case, said Dr. Bowes, the washcloth was “the only thing that would suggest that this may be a sexual asphyxia or accidental death.” Other factors usually present, such as nakedness or nakedness from the waist down and pornography found at the scene, were absent in the case of Mr. Pappas. Dr. Bowes added that some suicide victims use neck padding to protect their appearance in an open casket at their funeral, or to minimise pain from the cord around their neck .

The fact Mr. Pappas did not appear to have a history of depression, and did not leave a suicide note, did not rule out the possibility he had deliberately taken his life, he said.

Dr. Bowes then read a report from Dr. Michael Baden, who conducted a second autopsy on Mr. Pappas at the request of his family in August 2005. Dr. Baden has been an expert witness in high-profile cases such as the OJ Simpson murder trial, and the ongoing murder trial of legendary music producer Phil Spector in the US. He was unable to attend yesterday’s hearing in person.

In his report, Dr. Baden reached the same conclusion as Dr. Bowes, that Mr. Pappas died from self-inflicted hanging. In a letter to the Pappas family, Dr. Baden explained that in his opinion the deceased placed the washcloth around his neck “to prevent marks from appearing on his neck that would be visible to others the next day, and is evidence of some sort of experimentation, and not of homicide or suicide.” Dr. Baden said the death could “most reasonably” be categorised as accidental.

Disputing this, Dr. Bowes told the inquest that while it was impossible to say with certainty whether the death was an accident or suicide, it was “highly probable” it was the latter as suicide accounts for 99.9 percent of hanging deaths, and less than one percent are auto-erotic asphyxia.

As for the issue of pornography, Dr. Bowes told the inquest he had only seen photographs of the scene and did not know what was on Mr. Pappas’ computer. However, discussing administrative arrangements for the rest of the inquest, which continues today, the coroner indicated that Pappas family lawyer Mark Diel may wish to introduce evidence that there was pornography on the computer.