In a bid to show off to friends, 16-year-old Daniel Ferguson died taking a concoction of ecstasy, cocaine and LSD for the first time, after sneaking out of his family home in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire late at night.
The teenager, who was described his grandmother as a ‘caring and selfless homely lad’ who spent his pocket money on his family and rarely went out, was found slumped but conscious on an abandoned sofa by police after reports of a scuffle and died in hospital the following day.
Daniel Ferguson died after taking ecstasy, cocaine and LSD for the first time
CCTV footage showed the ‘very anti-drugs’ young farm worker being viciously assaulted by several boys as he lay on the floor.
He was taken to hospital, but suffered from a seizure and a number of cardiac arrests and died later that day.
A toxicology report confirmed Daniel had 3,400mg – 3.4grams – of MDMA in his blood.
Police are continuing to investigate who supplied Daniel with the drugs and have quizzed and bailed five youths.
An inquest heard the teenager, who worked as a farmhand, who would often stay in and play on his Xbox.
His grandmother Carol Ferguson, 65, said: ‘Daniel didn’t really go out much and was a homely lad.’ She continued ‘He was caring and selfless, often spending his £10 a week pocket money on his family.’
As she went on ‘Daniel used to love playing on his Xbox and just chilling at home. The family are deeply shocked and are finding it difficult to get their heads around and understand what has happened.’
In a statement read to the Warrington hearing, she added: ‘On March 8 I went to work at about 4pm and Daniel went out at about 5.30pm. I didn’t think anything of it because Daniel doesn’t go out much.’
‘He came back at 8.30pm saying he had been out with a friend and went upstairs to play on his Xbox.
The 16-year-old was taken to hospital but he died later that day
‘At midnight, he came downstairs and said he was tired and that he was going to sleep but this was the last time I saw Daniel and at 6.30am I was awoken by a call from the police telling me that he was in hospital.’
She sobbed ‘I have racked my brains as to why Daniel would have been out at that time and taking drugs.’
An inquest heard the teenager, who worked as a farmhand, who would often stay in and play on his Xbox
The youngster’s mother has since passed away after a battle with cancer. ‘Daniel’s mother died about two weeks ago, so the two have gone in six months so we are trying to fill the hole. She had cancer which Daniel didn’t know about – he died before she was diagnosed.’ Said the grand mother
‘He had a little job at a farm and he would come in have a shower, watch a bit of television with me and then go upstairs on his Xbox and would stay there till 12am.
‘It was the same for him everyday, but on this occasion, he just decided to go out and he never came back.’
The police officer who was on mobile patrol on the morning of March 9, PC Chris Tyler, told the hearing: ‘I received a call at 03.50am that several males were assaulting another male as he lay on the floor.
‘When I arrived the males saw us and rode off on their bikes. I could see Daniel lying on what looked like an abandoned sofa.
‘I could tell that he was under the influence of drugs as his eyes were glazed over and his jaw was swinging back and fourth. I took hold of his arm to help him up and he was extremely hot and sweaty and so I rang for an ambulance.
‘He was able to have a conversation with us and when I asked what he had taken he said cocaine, pills and acid. When I asked him why he said: “I think I was just showing off in front of my mates.”‘
Daniel died before his mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she too has since passed away, leaving a ‘hole’ in their family
Consultant at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Dr Simon Ridler, told the inquest doctors were unable to record Daniel’s temperature after it soared above 41 degrees
Consultant at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Dr Simon Ridler, told the inquest doctors were unable to record Daniel’s temperature after it soared above 41 degrees.
He said Daniel had a cardiac arrest, then deteriorated when his conscious level dropped, had a seizure and he did not fully regain consciousness.
He added: ‘We needed to move him to the intensive care unit but with the history of the assault we needed to perform a CT scan.’
Daniel suffered a further two cardiac arrests and was transferred for specialist treatment at South Manchester Hospital but had a final cardiac arrest and was unable to be resuscitated.
Recording the cause of death as MDMA toxicity Pathologist Dr Brian Rogers said CCTV footage recorded at 3am showed ‘Daniel’s behaviour had changed.’
‘A number of incidents occurred where he was punched by a number of males and a further incident of assault where he was found in a collapsed state,’ he added.
He suffered a number of fractures and bruises to his ribs, however his injuries did not contribute to his death, the pathologist added. Police ruled out assault as being a factor in his death.
The coroner recorded a verdict of drug related death.
Police are continuing to investigate who supplied Daniel with the drugs and have quizzed and bailed five youths
Mrs Ferguson said after the inquest: ‘Daniel never went out. He wasn’t a drug taker, he never took drugs – he was very anti-drugs. If I mentioned anything about drugs he would always say to me “Nan, if they didn’t take drugs it wouldn’t happen”.
‘In my mind I think that a drug dealer gave Daniel the drugs and carried on giving them to him until he overdosed. For me that’s manslaughter although police have said manslaughter would be very hard to prove because Daniel took the tablets of his own accord.’
His father, David Ferguson, 47, added: ‘I think he has just been peer pressured.’
I don’t consider myself to be a very tall person, but I ain’t no shorty, either. In fact, I’m pretty much an average when it comes to the height department (but I would rather not say when it comes to the weight).
According to Science, Short Wives and Tall Husbands Have the Best Marriages
My husband on the other hand is actually quite tall. Like, literally. He towers over most people that we know and it looks like thanks to his Jolly Green Giant genes, our children might end up surpassing me in height. Still, I’m not complaining. In fact, a new study actually found that says short wives who marry tall husbands have very happy marriages (and uber exciting sex lives).
Ok, the second part might have been an exaggeration (or was it), but it looks like your and your partner’s height plays a crucial role in the happiness factor.
Height Requirements
Dr Kitae Sohn, from Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, had a study that found when it comes to married couples, height has a lot to do with happiness. It said that the happiness of the wife was directly related to a taller husband. But these effects eventually fade in a marriage. What a bummer!
Size Matters
Dr Sohn explained in the journal Personality and Individual Differences “Although it has been known that women prefer tall men in mating for evolutionary reasons, no study has investigated whether a taller husband makes his wife happier”. She continued “A greater height difference in a couple was positively related to the wife’s happiness.”
He added that the relationship between height and happiness gradually weakened over time and by 18 years of marital duration, it would be completely dissipated.
Critics & Comments
Of course, the Internet had a lot to say about this study. People either agree or disagree with the research. Some comments have included:
“Primal desire to propagate taller offspring is more powerful than we realize. Sorry short guys.”
“That’s just great. Where am I going to find a three foot tall woman…?” said another.
“I’m 5’3 and my ex husband is 6’4. I’m currently in a relationship with a man 5’7 and never been so happy in relationship.” another commenter added. “It depends on the soul connection not physical height.”
Your Thoughts
I would have to go with a lot of the critics saying height in this matter is nothing but a number. But then again, I know what I’m attracted to. Taller guys have always found their way into my heart and that’s one of the reasons why I married my husband. Surely personality is no less an important factor, but you have to be attracted to the guy if you want to make your marriage work, too! It’s not like we’re walking around with our eyes closed here, right? How about you? Do share your thought with us, too!