Coroner rules carbon monoxide killed Tomlinson
A coroner has ruled that former Oxford Union President Edward Tomlinson was unlawfully killed in April 2006. Nearly a year to the day after Tomlinson’s death, Hereford Coroners’ Court has revealed that he was killed by carbon-monoxide poisoning. Tomlinson died in a Beirut hotel room while on a post-university gap year in 2006.
Last April, his death was reported to have been caused by what Lebanese pathologist Dr Elias Khoury called “brain electronic epilepsy”. The new verdict, returned on March 29th by Hereford Coroners’ Court, revealed that the Classics graduate’s death was caused by a faulty water heater in his hotel room. The fault led to 53% carboxyhaemoglobin saturation in his body. The typical level is between 2 and 10%.
Dr Simon Elliot was among the clinical scientists who carried out toxicology reports on Tomlinson’s body. He said, “In a fatal fire, you would expect the levels to be from 30 to 60 per cent, and likewise in fatal fumes from a car. The levels were well within that range.” Michael Scholar, the President of his former college (St John’s), said, “This news deepens our sorrow at Ed’s untimely death. It was so unnecessary; it is unbearably sad.
In spite of the release of the coroner’s report, Tomlinson’s parents do not intend to take any further action against either the hotel in which Tomlinson was staying or against the Lebanese pathologist who was responsible for the incorrect cause of death last April. Howard Tomlinson, Edward’s father, said, “Clearly we are extremely saddened by Ed’s death. But we are not angry and we have no personal vendettas.
We hope that there will be a tightening of safety practices in hotels to stop this terrible tragedy happening again.” In addition to serving as President of the Oxford Union, Tomlinson was also President of the OUCA in Hilary Term 2003. Current OUCA President Sam Belcher said, “This is a tragedy. Everyone at OUCA is stunned by the coroner’s report, which shows the sheer needlessness of his death."
19th Apr 2007