Inquest rules no suspicious circumstances surrounding 41-year-old's death in Stratford - The Stratford Observer

Inquest rules no suspicious circumstances surrounding 41-year-old's death in Stratford

Stratford Editorial 16th Jul, 2015 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A “TROUBLED” 41-year-old man took his own life, an inquest has heard.

Three people were initially arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of Shaun Docker but police have since concluded there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident.

The inquest was told how the dad-of-one, who had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, was found dead by friends at a house in Birmingham Road on March 29.

It is understood he had been staying at the house, which is known to attract drug users from around the town, with his girlfriend Donna Windsor.




The court heard how Mr Docker begun smoking cannabis and sniffing glue from the age of around 15. He then started committing criminal offences and spent time in prison before eventually moving to a series of hostels in and around the area.

And although Mr Docker was working with the Recovery Partnership to address his heroin addiction, he missed an appointment, which meant he would have to wait ten days before he could receive a prescription of methadone – a heroin replacement drug.


The inquest heard how he used a quantity of heroin on the day prior to his death and spent the day of his death drinking cider and whiskey with friends.

He then left the room sometime in the afternoon and was eventually found by Ms Windsor slumped against the wall with a length of fabric wrapped around his neck.

Mr Docker’s mother admitted he had attempted to take his own life in the past but said she felt he was “much happier recently.”

A toxicology report showed Mr Docker had two times the legal limit of alcohol in his body as well as a mixture of prescription drugs, cocaine and heroin.

And a pathologist report concluded Mr Docker died as a result of pressure to the neck however coroner Simon Charlton said he could not record a verdict of suicide as, owing to the amount of alcohol he had consumed, he was not certain Mr Docker intended to kill himself.

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Charlton said: “It’s clear to me Shaun Docker had a troubled life from his mid-teens onwards.

“On March 29 he was drinking with friends with friends at a house on Birmingham Road. Drink was known to make him depressed and he became emotional while talking about his young daughter.

“He said he was going upstairs to sleep and sometime later his body was discovered. The police haven’t found any third party involvement and concluded there were no suspicious circumstances and I am satisfied he took his own life.”

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