Man died after celebrating daughter's engagement (From Bucks Free Press)

Man died after celebrating daughter's engagement

4:00pm Wednesday 20th June 2012 in News By Simon Farr

A MAN died from acute alcohol intoxication after celebrating at his daughter’s engagement party, an inquest heard.

Anthony O’Grady’s body was discovered just yards away from his home in shrubbery outside flats in Herbert Road at about 8.30pm on October 9.

The 53-year-old - who was not a regular heavy drinker - is believed to have fallen backwards off a low wall in a drunken stupor and succumbed to postural asphyxia and acute alcohol intoxication.

The father of three had been drinking pints of Stella Artois as he partied with friends and family at The Glasshouse bar, now The Snug, in High Wycombe to mark his daughter’s engagement on October 8.

The inquest at Wycombe Law Courts was told Mr O’Grady was seen leaving the party at the Paul’s Row bar at around 1.20am on October 9.

CCTV spotted the warehouse manager heading to the High Street where he hailed a taxi which took him to Herbert Road - where he died.

A police investigation was launched after the discovery by residents, who initially thought Mr O’Grady’s body was a sack of dumped rubbish.

A post mortem was carried out by the Home Office, which is called in to investigate suspicious cases.

Dr Nicholas Hunt discovered a puncture wound to Mr O’Grady’s neck consistent with falling on to sharp twigs but found no further injuries which suggested he had been attacked.

A toxicology report revealed Mr O’Grady, who was married but separated from wife Penny, had 368 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood in his system - Dr Hunt said 350mgs was enough to kill.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, the Buckinghamshire Coroner Richard Hulett said Mr O’Grady had been "unlucky".

He said: "He was a man who had a drink from time to time...on this occasion he had consumed a lot [of alcohol].

"He got almost home and then he seems to have sat on this wall. It was very late, he’d had a lot to drink, and he toppled over backwards.

"Dr Hunt’s conclusions mentioned postural asphyxia; you can become so unconscious from the alcohol that you end up in a position where you cannot breathe very well.

"He was caught out and unlucky to have drank to excess and not managed to get to his bed."