A long-awaited coroner’s inquest to investigate the death of Christopher Spencer was held yesterday.

Mr Spencer, 25, died on October 27, 2012, after five years of heroin addiction.

The inquest, held in the Magistrates’ Court building, was intended to look into Mr Spencer’s death but its role was not to attribute blame or determine criminal or civil liability.

The court heard a written statement from Mr Spencer’s mother, Lynn Spencer, stating that he had been using illegal drugs for about ten years, heroin for five years and had been using the drug intravenously for several months before his death.

On the day of his death, she said that he had borrowed her car, returning home at about 5pm. After speaking with his mother he went to his room and she spoke on the phone to a friend.

After some time, she noticed that their dog was scratching at his bedroom door and whimpering. She called out for him and knocked on his door and, after receiving no response, discovered that the door was locked. She then called her sister, who told her to call 911.

Emergency Medical Technician Quincy Jones said that the hospital received a report of a suspected overdose at 6.13pm on October 27, 2012. He said he drove an ambulance to a home on Chapel Lane, Paget, but had a little difficulty finding the home before they were met in the street by Ms Spencer.

Asked how long the ambulance’s arrival was delayed by the issue, he said it was a matter of seconds.

The EMTs, along with PC Robert Butterfield, went into the home where PC Butterfield picked the lock, revealing Mr Spencer slumped in a chair with a half-filled syringe by his feet.

Mr Jones said they lifted Mr Spencer on to his bed, but were unable to find a pulse and his eyes did not show any reflex action.

He also noted that Mr Spencer’s body had become rigid, which he said was a sign that he had died.

Fellow EMT Shirlene Furbert said that Mr Spencer’s face was purple/blue in colour — a sign of dependent lividity — and under such circumstances CPR is not recommended.

The EMTs testified that they and others carried Mr Spencer’s body downstairs, placed him on a stretcher before returning to the hospital at 6.47pm.

Both of the EMTs were questioned about the use of Naloxone (also known as Narcan), a drug used to reverse an opiate overdose. They said an injection of the drug could reverse the effects of an overdose within a matter of minutes, but that the drug was only used if the patient was suffering from respiratory depression or low blood pressure, or to reverse sedation.

They also said that to administer the drug they would have had to get the approval of a doctor, but they did not contact a doctor because Mr Spencer was not breathing and had no pulse. Ms Furbert said contacting a doctor would only have taken seconds because they were in constant contact with the hospital.

The EMTs also told the court that at the time of the incident, none of the ambulances had GPS devices. Many of the ambulances now have GPS devices but the court heard they were the type used to track the vehicles rather than the type that give directions to drivers.

Dr Keith Mackenzie pronounced Mr Spencer dead at 7.21pm that day, saying he had no pulse, was not breathing and was cold to the touch.

Consulting pathologist Dr Marva Phillips-Williams said that heroin and its derivatives were found in Mr Spencer’s blood and vitreous humour — a fluid contained in the eye — which suggested that he had taken heroin within three hours of his death.

She also said that Mr Spencer was found to have fluid on his lungs, also known as pulmonary oedema, and an enlargement the left ventricle of the heart.

Questioned by lawyer Saul Froomkin, representing Ms Spencer, Dr Phillips-Williams said that the damage to the heart could have been caused by hypertension or chronic drug use, and that drug use could have made an existing heart condition worse.

As the hearing concluded, Mr Froomkin said that the facts clearly showed that Mr Spencer had died due to a drug overdose, adding that hopefully ambulances would be given GPS devices which provide EMTs with directions.

“It might not have made a difference in lieu of this situation, but Ms Spencer contends that no one should lose a child, so these things should be remedied,” he said.

A verdict in the matter is expected early next month.