Witness fails to show up at inquest

Deputy Wiltshire Coroner William Bache took the decision after key witness Stephen Pitts failed to appear to give evidence in court.

The inquest was previously adjourned in March when Deputy Wiltshire Coroner William Bache requested further investigations.

The court heard, before adjournment, how Mr Willcox, who witnesses said was known for his use of heroin, was found dead at about 8am on September 8 in the house in Portway, Chippenham, where his friend Mr Pitts lived at the time.

Mr Willcox was of no fixed abode and had just completed a four month prison sentence for drug offences,

Mr Pitts' neighbour, Paul Chevolleau, told the court, in a written statement, how Mr Pitts knocked on his door on Sunday morning.

He said Mr Pitts asked him to use his life-saving experience with the St John Ambulance in an attempt to revive Mr Willcox, who was lying on the sofa. After finding the body, Mr Chevolleau called the ambulance.

Dr Penny Tidbury, consultant pathologist at Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon, conducted the post mortem.

Blood tests conducted after Mr Willcox's death found levels of morphine at 770mg per litre, more than six times above the average lethal dose of 120mg.

Urine samples taken from the body showed a very small amount of alcohol. Further investigations had revealed no obvious puncture marks in the skin.

Detective Constable Richard Jones told the court how he had arrived on the scene just after the discovery of Mr Willcox's body. He said there was an almost empty bottle of whiskey and a glass on a table in front of the sofa. DC Jones said he too had discovered no puncture marks on the body and after a search of the house found no items associated with drug use.

Collette Biggins, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is housebound, also lived at the house where Mr Willcox was discovered dead. She said she had seen him sleeping heavily on the sofa in the living room on the night before his death.

The inquest was adjourned for four weeks.