MYSTERY surrounds the final hours that led to the death of an alcoholic who may have injected himself with insulin.

Andrew Bien, 28, of Walcot Road, was found dead in his cousin's bedroom on September 23 last year.

When a post mortem examination was carried out, the pathologist found five puncture wounds on his stomach, which could only have been made by a needle.

It is thought that the marks were made by an insulin injection pen, which was used by his cousin Jacek Kogut, who was a diabetic.

But his brother Richard told the coroner's court that Mr Bien was scared of needles and knew about the dangers of insulin overdose as he had translated the doctor's instructions for his Polish cousin.

There were no suspicious circumstances and the coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure.

On September 22 last year, Mr Bien was at home in the evening with his family in Walcot Road. He was found dead in bed the following morning by his father, Kazik Bien.

In a statement read to the court Kazik Bien said it was clear his son had been drinking.

"I don't know how I know, I just do," he said.

Mr Bien's cousin, Klaudia Stankiewicz, was staying at the house so he slept in his cousin Jacek's bedroom.

Mr Kogut said that he kept his insulin supply in the fridge, but also kept one shot in a pen in his room. However, Mr Kogut told police that his insulin had not changed levels and there was not less in the pen.

Mr Bien was examined by Dr Al Badri, a pathologist at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital.

The post mortem examination was carried out after 11 days, which is routine when dealing with alcoholics as there can be the risk of the pathologist contracting hepatitis.

Dr Al Badri confirmed that Mr Bien had 221mg alcohol for every 100ml of blood in his system, nearly three times the drink-drive limit.

However, he did not find any evidence of insulin in Mr Bien's system.

"But the samples were unsuitable for testing," he said.

"I did not perform the post mortem examination until 11 days after death and the insulin would no longer be in the system."

Dr Al Badri told the court it was possible that just a small amount of insulin would have been enough to react with the large amount of alcohol and cause Mr Bien to stop breathing.

He recorded the cause of death as excess alcohol with insulin toxicity.

Wiltshire coroner David Masters said: "It is not unusual for a situation where a person who dies from a drug overdose has a fear of needles.

"Because of the circumstances it is possible to exclude the effect that insulin could have played."

  • Verdict: misadventure.