Nigel Bom, 37, was found dead in his bed in March 2021. Photo: Supplied
An inquest into the death of a Christchurch man in 2021 has been told he was using intravenous drugs and asking others to inject him.
Nigel Bom, 37, was found dead in his bed in March 2021.
A forensic pathologist determined his cause of death was a combination of methamphetamine use and epilepsy, but his family has questioned whether there was foul play.
On Friday, a witness, who has name suppression, said she had known Bom since he was a child, and reconnected with him when she moved into the housing complex he lived in about a year before he died.
She said she saw him almost every day, and considered her relationship with him to be like that of an aunty.
The witness said the pair talked a lot, and Bom confided in her about his life.
She said she knew he was using drugs, particularly cannabis and methamphetamine.
"He used meth and I heard he used opiates too, but that was just talk. Meth was his favourite. He used it as much as he could. I knew he smashed it back," she said.
Earlier in the inquest, a witness said Bom had told them he was being made to use drugs intravenously, and others were injecting him.
Friday's witness said she knew he was using drugs intravenously and that Bom was getting others to help him because he couldn't do it himself.
She said he was not being forced, but that those helping him were "taking advantage" of him, and making use of his drugs.
The witness said she didn't know who was injecting him, or who he got drugs off.
She also said Bom's epilepsy, which he had had since he was a child, was getting worse in his final months, with more frequent seizures.
At times, he would have violent seizures in front of her, but other times he would tell her he thought he must have had a seizure because he had woken up to find he had injured himself.
The witness said she had not gone to Bom's funeral because she had been accused of being party to killing him, which she denies.
Ending her evidence she said "I hope you find out what happened to this beautiful soul".
Two witnesses failed to appear on Friday, the final day of the inquest.
Coroner Rachael Schmidt-McCleave. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Before the inquest concluded, Coroner Rachael Schmidt-McCleave invited Bom's sister, Krystal Martin, to say some words about Nigel.
Martin said her brother had been the most badly behaved of the siblings as a child, and got in to a lot of trouble.
She said he climbed into a drier as a child to hide from the police and someone turned it on, and that caused the epilepsy that he had for the rest of his life.
Bom had a heart of gold, and was good to his family and friends, said Martin.
She said Bom particularly adored his niece, and would buy her small presents and keep chocolates for her visits.
Krystal said Bom would never admit when he was wrong and would swipe any lighter handed to him, but they miss him dearly and would have him back in a heart beat.
The inquest has concluded, and the Coroner will now complete her findings.
