Leicester student drowned after taking online-ordered opioids, inquest hears
Adam Griffin, a 19-year-old University of Leicester student, drowned in a drainage ditch near his family home in Yatton, Somerset, on Christmas Eve after taking opioids ordered online. An inquest heard that he had recently experienced a relationship break-up; the coroner could not establish whether he intended to take his own life, and recorded a narrative verdict.
Griffin went missing after receiving a parcel and leaving home, and his family reported him missing in the early hours of Christmas Day. His body was found on Boxing Day, near a black bumbag containing empty blister packs; toxicology found he had taken more than the therapeutic dose of an opioid. His family described him as caring, and his former football club has raised more than £4,000 for a young people’s mental health charity.
In short
- Student Adam Griffin drowned after taking opioids ordered online.
- The inquest could not determine his intent.
- His former football club raised over £4,000 for youth mental health support.
Explained simply
Opioids are medicines used to relieve pain, but taking more than the prescribed amount can be dangerous and may affect a person’s breathing and awareness. Medicines bought online may not be supplied or checked in the same way as those from a pharmacy, so their contents and strength can be uncertain.
An inquest is a legal inquiry into a death, led by a coroner. It can examine how someone died and the circumstances around it; when the evidence does not establish a clear intention, the coroner may record a narrative verdict describing the circumstances without deciding that the death was suicide.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Student, 19, drowned in a drainage ditch on Christmas Eve after overdosing on opioids he ordered online, inquest hears”.