Douglas man 'will always be in our hearts'

Inquest into Scott Caldwell's death concludes

A family has paid tribute to a, "loving husband, son, brother, father, stepfather and friend who is dearly missed by all, and will be remembered as such forever more".

It's after the inquest into the death of martial arts instructor Scott Caldwell, of Berry Woods Avenue in Douglas, was concluded at the town's courthouse today.

His body was found by a search and rescue team in a field near Trollaby Lane in Braddan at around 2pm on 5 February.

Coroner of Inquests John Needham heard the 44-year-old had been using cocaine heavily to ease dental pain in the days leading up to his death.

When his body was discovered he had more than 38 grams of the class A drug in a jar, which police estimate was worth up to £2,600.

Speaking at the inquest, Mr Caldwell’s wife, Victoria, said her husband had been behaving unusually for days and had begun taking cocaine after complaining his teeth were causing him agony.

He left home at 6.30am on the day he died, calling her later to say he didn’t know where he was – sparking a search by the emergency services.

Pathologist Dr Ervine Long said Mr Caldwell had significant amounts of the drug in his system, and also showed some signs of hypothermia.

Mr Needham returned a verdict of death by non-dependent abuse of drugs, and expressed his condolences to Mr Caldwell’s family who were in court for the hearing.

The family of Scott Caldwell request that after today’s hearing, they be left in peace to grieve.

Paying tribute, they say he will always be in their hearts and thoughts each day as the caring man that he was.

Throughout his life, they say Scott helped people who came to him for advice, and his motto of “be the person you needed when there was no-one” will resonate with many people, because Scott was that man, when people needed him.