Coroner's Finding: Godley, David Geoffrey

30y · Male·Exsanguination due to self-inflicted multiple stab and incised wounds

David Geoffrey Godley, aged 30, died from exsanguination due to self-inflicted multiple stab and incised wounds to his neck, chest, and head on 24 April 2016 in Tasmania. He had a long history of psychosis and depression dating from age 14, treated with antipsychotic medication with variable compliance. In the weeks before death, he experienced escalating paranoia and delusional ideation, including paranoid beliefs about being persecuted. He presented to hospital on 8 April 2016 with methamphetamine toxicity after consuming 2 grams of ice. Despite referral to psychiatry, he did not follow up with mental health services after discharge. On the day of death, during a delusional episode exacerbated by methamphetamine use, he inflicted fatal self-harm while his wife attempted to stop him. The coroner found no preventable clinical failures but noted the significant role of chronic cannabis use from adolescence and methamphetamine use in precipitating and exacerbating his psychotic illness, culminating in this tragic outcome.