NEED TO KNOW
- A teacher died while putting on sneakers to get ready for work, an inquest has heard
- 31-year-old Patrick Guthrie was putting on sneakers when he fell and hit his head in London last year
- His death has been ruled as positional asphyxia, cardiac arrest, Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and brain injury
A teacher died at home while preparing for work, an inquest has heard.
According to the London Evening Standard, 31-year-old Patrick Guthrie was putting on sneakers when he fell and hit his head in London last year.
His sister, Patricia Guthrie, found his body in the living room after his workplace called her on December 4, 2024, stating that he had been absent from school for two days.
The English and film studies teacher had been working at Hendon School since September 2023.
Meanwhile, Patrick had been staying at Patricia’s apartment in Mitchison Road, Islington, while she was staying with their mother, Jenny Murphy.
PEOPLE reached out to the St Pancras Coroner’s Court and the Metropolitan Police for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
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The calls from her brother’s school “really concerned me as it was very unlike Patrick. He has never missed work,” Patricia said.
After returning home, the worried sister found Patrick on the floor with his neck hyperextended and his head against the wall.
Sgt Kevin Clark reportedly said the wall had a crack where a window was, which detectives believe Patrick’s head landed on.
“My opinion was that this was Mr Guthrie’s work stuff and that he was preparing to go to work,” Sgt Clark said after Guthrie’s rucksack with work items was found in the kitchen. He was also wearing one of his sneakers.
An autopsy found that Patrick had a large bruise on his forehead and another on his chin. His brain also suffered from trauma.
Dr Joseph Westaby, who works with St George’s Hospital, highlighted that Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) could have been the cause of death.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, SADS is a heart condition where an abnormal heart rhythm affects the heart’s electrical system, causing sudden death.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Histopathology consultant, Dr Liina Palm, suggested a cardiac arrest could have happened due to Gruthie’s body not having any protective marks.
Meanwhile, the teacher also fractured his foot in February 2024, causing doctors to consider that he may have had pain while putting on his sneakers.
“It’s very difficult to support this theory that somebody fully conscious wouldn’t try to break their fall,” Dr Palm said.
Patrick’s cause of death has been ruled as positional asphyxia, cardiac arrest, Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and brain injury.
Patricia reportedly told the court that she and her family were going to be tested for the gene that causes SADS.
“It was such a shock, for someone that was so healthy,” she said.
Hendon School also paid tribute to their late staff member in December.
“The Hendon School community experienced the saddest of news with the sudden passing of English and Film Studies teacher, Mr. Patrick Guthrie,” representatives for the school wrote on their official website. “Mr. Guthrie joined the school in September 2023 and immediately impressed us with his passion for English; his dedication to pedagogy; and his diligent, hard work.”
They added, “Our thoughts are obviously with Patrick’s family at this difficult time. It is hard to imagine the shock and grief that his mother, sister and extended family must be experiencing at losing such an essentially kind and decent son, brother and uncle.”
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