Tree poison death shock

A 42-YEAR-OLD man died after he smoked and ate toxic yew tree needles.

An inquest into the death of Petr Smisek heard how the needles contained poisonous taxine and would have caused a rapid deterioration in health.

Mr Smisek had ingested and smoked the yew tree needles at his home on Waterloo Street, Glodwick, on the evening of January 7.

His friend David Kissimonyi visited Mr Smisek around 10 minutes after he had consumed the substance.

When Mr Smisek told him that he had eaten and smoked them, David went on Google to research them and found out they were highly toxic. But when he told Mr Smisek, he brushed it off.

However, David rang the emergency services and in a statement read at the Heywood Phoenix Centre, he said Mr Smisek told him "I'm sorry to put you through this."

David rang the emergency services on two more occasions. By the end of the third call, Mr Smisek was fitting on the bed.

Prior to that, Mr Smisek had stated that his tongue was numb and his teeth were sore.

David carried out CPR until paramedics arrived at around 9.30pm and took Mr Smisek to the Royal Oldham Hospital where he later died.

A post mortem examination revealed Mr Smisek had cannabis and taxine B in his system.

Consultant toxicologist Julie Evans, speaking at the inquest, said cannabis was unlikely to have caused the fatality but taxine B can cause a rapid deterioration.

She said: "The main thing is it blocks the signals to the nerves and effects the heart. People can suffer convulsions and respiratory distress.

"I don't think cannabis was a significant factor in the cause of death. It depends on the amount (of taxine) and this was smoking it which I have never heard of before.

"Because the symptoms are quite dramatic it can be quite a rapid deterioration. There is no antidote, there is support treatment but no antidote."

Mr Smisek had recently become unemployed and David, when giving a statement to police, said that he always talked about suicide, however he never thought he would commit it.

A police investigation of Mr Simek's flat also found numerous yew tree branches, some of which looked charred. David had told them that Mr Smisek had confided in him that he got them from Alexandra Park.

On his computer, Google searches related to suicide, however it could not be for certain that Mr Smisek had carried out the research, nor did they link to the consumption of yew trees.

There was no history of mental health issues or anxiety regarding Mr Semik nor did his stepfather, William Brown, feel he showed any signs.

He described Mr Smisek, who was from the Czech Republic and served with their national Army, as a "happy-go-lucky kind of guy" with good health, and would accept help from him, although he admitted he was quite a private person who kept himself to himself.

He said: "He loved to travel, he did national service for the Army, a pretty outgoing fellow."

Coroner Lisa Hashmi gave a conclusion of misadventure, death by taxine toxicity, because she felt there was not enough evidence to definitively say Mr Smisek had committed suicide, but had deliberately ingested the yew plant.

She said: "I do have an element of doubt in my mind. You had a good relationship which again casts doubt in my mind because he had people around him to turn to.

"As to the intention I do have some doubt and I cannot conclude that he committed suicide.

"Whether it was because he had no money to purchase cannabis and thought perhaps other plants might give the same effect, I don't know.

"I do believe he failed to appreciate how toxic the plant was and he had brushed off how serious it was when his friend told him."

Ms Hashmi, who expressed her condolences to the family, said: "He knew you were there which is important because in the modern world not everybody has someone to turn to."