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A “fit and healthy” Royal Mail worker, who had been “loved by everyone” and made “everything fun” was tragically found dead at his home in Plymouth last year, an inquest has heard. Barry George Thomas Thorne, 36, described as a “ray of light” by his family had told a close friend just a week before his untimely death that he was the “happiest he had ever been”, the inquest was told.
Barry’s mother, Kimberley Bunnell, said Barry, who lived on Alexandra Road, Mutley brought “light, and fun and laughter into every situation” after an inquest concluded into his death today.
But questions remained unanswered after his body was discovered in his bathroom on August 7, 2021.
Senior coroner Ian Arrow has sought further clarification as to why Barry had died despite appearing to have no previous medical conditions. A pathologist, who carried out Barry’s post-mortem, explained she was unable to give a cause of death, somewhat due to his “significantly decomposed” body.
Recalling memories of her son, Mrs Bunnell said Barry was a gifted and talented child at school and had always been intelligent. She added: “Everybody loved him. He is so missed, it’s just a big hole with a big piece missing now. Everything he did he would make fun. He loved children – he was so good with his godchildren, his nieces and nephews. He was a ray of light, he just brought the laughter and the fun.”
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At the inquest, held at Plymouth Coroners’ Court on Thursday, October 13, the pathologist said the “decomposition may have made it harder” to ascertain the reason as to why Barry had died. She told Mr Arrow that following the post-mortem she “couldn’t find any evidence why he collapsed”.
However, she stated that on the balance of probability the most likely cause of death would have been cardiac arrhythmia – a condition which sees an “abnormal electrical impulse” in the heart, resulting in the heart beating too slowly, too quickly, or irregularly.
The pathologist explained that it was a condition doctors do not “fully understand” and due to Barry’s young age it was the most likely cause. She also added that the condition was hereditary, advising Barry’s siblings to consult a doctor for advice.
Police civilian investigator Phil Trevains told the inquest that Barry was found by police on August 7, 2021 in his bathroom. Mr Trevains said police had been contacted by Barry’s dad who had become concerned about his son’s welfare. Concern was also raised by his colleagues after Barry hadn’t logged onto his computer on August 5. The same day Barry was due to meet some friends but never showed up. After police found Barry’s body, neighbours informed officers that they had heard “loud shouting and a bang”.
However, police found that the property was secure with windows and doors locked from the inside. Mr Trevains concluded that there was no sign of disturbance and no concerns that anything criminal had happened.
At the time of his death, Barry had worked as a manual data entry clerk at Royal Mail. His line manager described Barry as a “model employee”, adding “sickness had never been a feature”.
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A colleague of Barry’s said he “never took time off” and even recalled a time he had broken his foot five years ago but still managed to “hobble” into work. The coroner’s court heard how “everyone at work was dismayed”.
One of Mrs Bunnell’s favourite memories of her son was when he was around three years old. She said: “When he was quite little they’d done something wrong in his bedroom so we took the teddys and pretended the teddys spoke to us in our ear and told us everything. We turned around and told him the teddys had told us everything so we knew who had done it. The following day I go into the room and found there wasn’t a teddy in sight.
“He’d only gone and taken all the teddys, put them in a zip top bag, put them in the wardrobe and closed the door. When I asked him he said ‘Teddys have got big mouths’.”
Concluding the proceeding, coroner Mr Arrow informed the family he would record Barry’s date of death at August 5, 2021, two days before he was found, but that he was unable to give a cause of death and would be recording an open conclusion. He said: “I can’t be sure why he has died. It would appear a sudden a catastrophic natural event has occurred.”
Therefore, Mr Arrow recorded Barry’s death as “natural causes”, adding a condition with his heart was the “most likely” reason for why he suddenly collapsed. Barry’s post-mortem took place four days after his body was discovered, leading to a heavier state of decomposition.
The family questioned if the delay to analysing Barry’s body had increased the chances of not receiving a cause of death. The pathologist acknowledged the family’s concerns and stated she would pass the information to her mortuary lead, with a suggestion that decomposed bodies take priority in future.
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