A MAN was found dead in his Boscombe flat after his mum called police to report him missing.

Niall Duthie, 39, had taken ‘an excess’ of paracetamol, an inquest heard on Friday. However, a coroner was unable to reach the conclusion that Mr Duthie had intended to take his own life.

Mr Duthie and his mother Valerie Quinn were previously convicted of pretending to be married in order to obtain a £120,000 remortgage, before launching a five-week spending spree.

Ms Quinn told the inquest Mr Duthie had moved from his dad’s home in Glasgow to Bournemouth to be near her, and worked in a series of hospitality jobs, including at the Dudsbury Golf Club.

Not long before his death, he had developed a tremor in one hand. When her messages went unreturned, Ms Quinn called police. Mr Duthie’s body was found by PCs at the property in Grosvenor Gardens on August 7. Sergeant David Went told the inquest it appeared that a handful of pills had been taken from a tupperware. Bleach had also been poured into a drinking bottle, although Mr Duthie had not consumed it.

Pathologist Dr Julianne Stolte said Mr Duthie’s liver weighed 3,089 grams. The average for a man of his height and weight is around 1,500g. Mr Duthie had around six times more paracetamol in his blood than a normal therapeutic dose, although he had taken less than the level usually associated with a fatality.

The cause of death was recorded as liver failure due to paracetamol intoxication, as well as chronic alcohol disease. Assistant coroner Brendan Allen said he could not be sure that Mr Duthie had intended to commit suicide when he took the paracetamol.

In 2003, Mr Duthie acted as his mum’s former husband to get money from her mortgage company. The ‘couple’ had meetings with the company, and Mr Duthie forged his stepfather’s signature. According to reports in The Times, Ms Quinn withdrew the full £120,000 and went on the run abroad. When she handed herself in, she was found to have just £525 left.

Mr Duthie’s father Bill – Ms Quinn’s first husband – gave an interview to the Daily Record after she was jailed for 15 months in which he said Mr Duthie had been ‘duped’ by his mum.

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