Ian White's body is removed from his Peace St home. Photo/file
An alcoholic whose bloodied and bruised body was found in his Rotorua flat in May last year died as a result of a heart condition following blunt force injuries, a coroner has ruled.
Coroner Gordon Matenga today released the findings into the death of White, 58, on May 3 last year, saying his injuries were self-inflicted.
White's body was found in his Peace St flat on May 3 last year by a gardener who thought it was strange he had not come out to greet him as he normally would.
There was no reply when the gardener called to him, so he went inside the unlocked house. He saw blood throughout the flat and found White dead in his bed with his eyes swollen.
New details about what went on in White's life in the months leading up to his death were revealed at his inquest, which showed why the police initially treated the death as suspicious.
White had received a $90,000 inheritance after his mother's death but a woman he met soon after took advantage of his generous nature and alcohol abuse issues, the finding has revealed.
The woman, Claudia McDonald, admitted at the inquest in Rotorua on July 11 she had taken thousands of dollars from White, as well as selling a Jaguar car she claimed he had given her.
Police inquiries revealed White was "burning through his inheritance at an alarming rate".
He had lost or had stolen two bank cards and the bank refused to issue him another card, resulting in him having to go to the bank to get money out.
He regularly went to the bank, sometimes making daily withdrawals of $1000.
He also got a bank cheque to buy a Jaguar on April 27.
McDonald told police White had promised to buy her a car and she could pick it up from home.
On May 1, McDonald and her associate Ralph Pereira went to the Peace St house. Pereira knocked on the door but no one answered. Noticing the keys were inside the Jaguar, McDonald drove it away, telling police she understood she had White's permission to do so, the finding said.
Pereira was summonsed to attend the inquest but didn't show up and police were still looking for him.
McDonald sold the car that night, which she said was to pay a debt, the finding said.
In evidence during the inquest, Detective Senior Constable Russell Bell said McDonald admitted to police she made posts on White's Facebook page on May 2 claiming to be him.
They said "Love u Claudia .xxx hope you love ur car" and "Lesha u and ur boyfriend are guna b punished kum ng to my house and abusing Mee".
Bell said in evidence McDonald admitted making the posts on Facebook, saying she had White's passwords. She said she did it to get back at Aliesha Stevens, who was another of White's associates.
White was a regular visitor to a local liquor store and would buy at least two 1-litre bottles of Kristov vodka.
His last sighting was on May 1 when he bought three bottles.
CCTV footage of White showed he was regularly covered in injuries and was often stumbling as if intoxicated.
A police scene examination of his house showed uneaten fish and chips on his table, 17 empty bottles of vodka, and blood on the floors and walls throughout the flat. Among the blood on the floor in the hallway, a tooth was found.
There was dried blood on clothing at the foot of the bed.
Forensic experts ruled the blood was not consistent with the use of force and other patterns showed attempts at cleaning the blood using a cloth or a sponge. A bucket containing water and blood was knocked and the liquid splashed on to the wall.
Luminol testing was done inside and outside the house but no blood was found on the outside paths.
ESR scientist Wendy James noted White had moved around the house while bleeding, based on drip stains in various rooms and luminol impressions of feet or socks in the bedroom and kitchen.
She said a bloodied object or injury had been washed in the sink in the toilet and in the shower, and there were partial footwear impressions on the outside of the front door and along the hallway.
No fingerprints belonging to a third party were found inside the house.
White had several injuries, including black eyes, several minor cuts and scrapes and a long cut to the top of his head.
None of the injuries appeared to be life threatening. Matenga found White abused alcohol and was constantly injuring himself.
"He was seen by many people at many different times to be stumbling around, using walls and other objects to balance himself."
Witnesses in the days leading up to his death saw the cut on his head.
A toxicology report showed White had a blood alcohol level of 488mcg per 100ml of blood.
"In non-habituated drinkers, such a level would be sufficient to cause death. However, White had a history of long-term alcohol abuse with recent consumption of reportedly at least a bottle of spirits a day."
Matenga said White was "trapped in the clutches of an alcohol addiction".
Former wife pays tribute to "gentle soul"
White's former wife, Tania White, said her former husband had been a good man but his alcoholism coupled with his mother's inheritance money killed him.
Tania White told the Coroner's Court at the inquest that White was a wonderful father to their two children which she wanted made public.
She said the last two years of his life were "very difficult" but his children were devastated by his death.
"The alcoholism and his mother's money killed him. Unfortunately people took advantage of him."
She said he had a good relationship with the children previously. He used to take his son to rugby and they bonded over their love of the sport, often texting each other over rugby matches.
"We knew things were not good because he stopped doing that. He was protecting them from how he was. There was shame and guilt of how he was. He was a real gentle soul."
She said the family acknowledged he was living an unhealthy life and made some "questionable choices" but they were his choices.
"They [their children] wanted to come today [to the inquest] but I wouldn't let them. I don't want them to remember these details. I wanted them to remember him as a father who was there for them."
Matenga said although there was evidence White's injuries were self inflicted, he was satisfied there was no evidence White intentionally tried to take his own life.
Matenga said White died of ischaemic heart disease with multiple blunt force injuries in a background of alcohol intoxication.
Facts surrounding Ian White's death
• Ian White's body was found on May 3, 2016 in his Peace St home
• Coroner has ruled his death was from a heart condition following injuries suffered as a result of being intoxicated
• Ian White had inherited $90,000 from his mother
• Associates had admitted to police they were taking advantage of Ian White and he was giving them money
• Claudia McDonald claimed Ian White bought her a Jaguar car, which she took on May 1 and sold on the same day to pay off a debt
• Claudia McDonald admitted to police she made Facebook posts pretending to be Ian White on his Facebook page on May 2
• Police originally treated his death as a homicide but forensic testing failed to find anyone else had been at the house or any sign of a struggle
He aims to bridge Māori and non-Māori communities on the council.
