Connor Norman, 18, was found unconscious on the bathroom floor at a friend’s house.
His stepfather attempted to revive him using CPR and paramedics took him to the Norfolk and Norwich.
However, doctors discovered he had suffered an irreversible brain injury and he died two days later.
An inquest into his death, held at Norfolk Coroner’s Court this month, was told he had started taking cocaine in June 2024, after a relationship ended.
Two months later, Connor, from Aylsham, was taken to hospital after suffering a cocaine overdose, but he recovered.
Connor was taken by ambulance to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (Image: BRITTANY WOODMAN)
He was referred to the Matthew Project, which supports those struggling with drug and alcohol use.
Following an assessment from a community mental health nurse, health experts also considered referring him to the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust for treatment for possible psychosis.
However, they concluded that he was not experiencing psychosis other than through drug use.
A toxicology report following his death found evidence of recreational cocaine use on the evening he was found unconscious.
His inquest was told that he had been at his mother’s house earlier in the evening of October 8, 2024, before going to a friend’s.
His behaviour initially seemed normal but he then locked himself in a bathroom and could be heard “puttering about”, along with loud banging noises and running water.
Norfolk Coroners Court at County Hall in Norwich. (Image: Denise Bradley)
His friends described him sounding like he was “in a bad way” but the noises then suddenly stopped.
They became alarmed and broke the lock to get in to the bathroom. They also called his stepfather who came round.
Inside, they found Connor limp and with wet tissue and flannel in his mouth.
His stepfather performed CPR on him before paramedics arrived and Connor was taken by ambulance to hospital in the early hours of October 9.
He was pronounced dead at around 10.28pm on October 11.
The medical cause of death was given as “anoxic brain injury, asphyxiation and cocaine overdose”, although the latter was disputed by the family due to the level of the drug in his blood being significantly less than the lethal level.
Connor was from Aylsham (Image: Facebook)
Assistant coroner Christopher Leach concluded that Connor’s death was a result of “misadventure”, while amending the cause to read cocaine use rather than overdose.
In a statement to the court, his family said he was “sorely missed” and described him as “the foundation of the family” as well as “someone who would light up every room with his presence.”
They added that he “cared so much about protecting others” and that if you wanted to feel loved, he was “the go-to man”.
Following his death, his mother wrote on social media: “The last five months, nearly, have been the toughest times of our family’s life.
“People have come together and held me and my children up when our world has come crashing down on us.”
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