A CARLISLE man tragically died on the day of his mother's funeral at which he was meant to be reading a eulogy - an inquest heard.
Former chef Lee Steven Carr, 31, died at his home in Newfield Drive on May 27, 2022.
An inquest in Cockermouth on Thursday heard that he had been 'a happy, healthy little boy' but got involved with drugs as a teenager.
In a statement, his father, Colin, said he went to Kingmoor Infant and Junior School.
"He was well behaved and enjoyed playing with this friends," said Mr Carr.
He later went to St Aidan's Secondary School.
"When he was 15 he lost interest in school. He had a career lined up as a vehicle mechanic," said Mr Carr.
Lee left school at 16 and ended up working at the Turf Tavern in Carlisle.
"He became a talented chef and was there for two years," said Mr Carr.
He had numerous jobs, mostly in catering but struggled to keep them, the inquest heard.
"He did struggle with drug addiction but tried to get over it," said Mr Carr.
"He had used heroin but overcame this with the methadone programme."
Lee, who had two children, had been released from prison four days before his death and was collected by his father.
"He seemed well, considering the circumstances (his mother's recent death). He looked healthy," said Mr Carr.
"When he got out of prison he was clean."
Mr and Mrs Carr saw him regularly that week, taking him to appointments and helping him prepare for the funeral.
The evening before his death, Lee's friend Emily Irwin had telephoned, saying she could not wake him.
Mr Carr went round and found Lee unconscious.
"He came round and I got him to his feet. He was incoherent, it was obvious he had taken something but he would not say," said Mr Carr.
"I told Lee to go to bed. As we were leaving he said 'I will make my mum proud tomorrow.' He was reading a eulogy."
When Lee failed to answer his phone calls the following morning, Mr Carr went to his flat. He was found deceased on his bedroom floor.
Emergency services were called. Police found a large number of medications style drugs in his flat, the inquest heard.
Lee had engaged with drug and alcohol recovery services for several years. His GP noted he had a medical history of anxiety, depression and drug dependency.
He had been prescribed methadone and pregabalin.
Ms Irwin said: "He was a caring, loving person, the most amazing friend."
Following a toxicology report and post mortem, the pathologist gave the medical cause of death as "a combination of pregabalin, methadone and bromazolam".
Area coroner Kirsty Gomersal said: "Lee was the much-loved son of Colin and Steph and adored son of Elizabeth. I heard there was a lot of love between Lee and his mother.
"He was father to two children and friend to many.
"It's clear Mr Carr and his wife were very supportive and loving."
She noted he did have issues with drugs since being a teenager and was on methadone, for heroin. He also had some physical issues following a serious road accident.
"It's so tragic that he died on the day of his mother's funeral, I'm so sorry for you and his friends for his loss," said Ms Gomersal.
She accepted the medical cause of death. "The combination led to excess sedation, respiratory depression and sadly Lee's death," said Ms Gomersal, who concluded his death was 'drug-related'.
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