Inquest into the Death of Anthony William KUSTER

44y · Male·Ligature compression of the neck and methylamphetamine effect

Anthony William Kuster, a 44-year-old man, died from ligature compression of the neck combined with methylamphetamine toxicity. He applied a tourniquet around his neck while heavily intoxicated with methylamphetamine after his partner left home. His partner discovered him collapsed approximately 8 minutes later but, believing he was pretending (as had happened previously), did not initiate CPR immediately. Instead, he removed the tourniquet, took photographs, and spent considerable time examining the deceased's phone to understand household events that day. CPR was not started until approximately 90 minutes after discovery, when the deceased was unresponsive. The coroner noted that immediate CPR on discovery might have been survivable depending on the precise mechanism of death, but emphasised that heavy methylamphetamine use predisposed the deceased to impaired judgment and risk-taking behaviour. The death was classified as an open finding due to inability to determine whether it was intentional or accidental.