Hungover student dies in bed after joking to friends his body felt ‘crippled’

A model university student died while nursing a severe hangover and lay undiscovered for five days, an inquest heard.

Nathaniel Issac, 20, had been out drinking the night before his death and text a friend the next day saying ‘my body feels crippled lol’.

Extensive tests were carried out during a 20 month investigation into the tragedy, but experts were unable to establish a cause of death.

Nathaniel had been drinking to celebrate New Year on December 30th 2017, but no trace of the toxic substance could be found in his system.

Police even investigated unsubstantiated claims from Nathaniel’s father that his son was poisoned with arsenic by fellow students.

But a pathologist ruled out any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death at an inquest held in Manchester on Thursday.

The inquest heard Nathaniel, from the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, was a straight-A student enjoying his first year of a Business and Computer Engineering course at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He was found dead by a security guard on January 5 2018 after his family raised concerns about his welfare.

His friend Jonny Speight, who received the text off Daniel told the inquest: ‘I assumed by the “lol” that he was hungover from the night before as there were no other health problems as far as I knew. But that was the last message he sent me.

‘There were no phone calls or other messages or contact last December 31st.’

Mr Speight, 21, described Nathaniel as ‘extremely academic and well liked’.

He said his friend enjoyed socialising but was also ‘very health conscious’ and ‘talked often about the gym and running’.

Another student, Nathan Jackson, said of his friend: ‘I very much saw Nathaniel as an academic and gifted. He always came into university on time everyday and he was always the person to show the teacher his work.

‘I can’t explain how much of a good friend Nathaniel was to me. I had that instant connection with him and he was so good, I don’t understand why and how it happened. It still gets to me.’