TRAGIC teenager Patrick Halpin died after falling from the roof of a Burger King restaurant while apparently trying to gain re-entry to a London nightclub, an inquest has heard.
This morning, Westminster Coroners Court ruled that Mr Halpin died as a result of a tragic accident.
The 18-year-old Co Galway native was found dead in Leicester Square last month after being reported missing following a brief visit to the city.
His body was found on a roof in Leicester Square with both of his shoes removed and found tied together near the body.
London's Metropolitan Police later found a broken roof bracket and damage to a chimney that suggested Mr Halpin had been attempting to lower himself from another roof 4m above at the time of his death.
Dr John David Van Der Walt, who carried out the post-mortem, ruled that the cause of death was severe brain swelling due to a concussive brain injury sustained after a fall from a height.
Mr Halpin’s blood alcohol level was 40 over 100, well under the legal driving limit of 80 over 100.
Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Paul Stephens told the court that the student had been drinking at Zoo Bar nightclub on Tuesday, February 4.
He had come to London that day on a theatre trip with friends from Dublin City University’s drama society.
At 12:20am he was asked to leave Zoo Bar by doormen after bumping into a customer.
Mr Halpin then went into a nearby Burger King, where he managed to get access to a staff area of the restaurant by going through two doors which usually require a pin code to get through.
On this occasion both doors were on the latch, giving Mr Halpin access to the restaurant’s roof.
The locks on both doors, which are clearly marked “staff only”, have been replaced following the incident, DS Stephens told the court.
While on the roof Mr Halpin took a video on his mobile phone, which was later found along with his body at 7:50pm on Thursday, February 6.
Police said there was nothing on the video to suggest anyone else was on the roof with Patrick at the time of his death.
Heartbroken Paddy and Elsie Halpin with their daughter Regina at Patrick's funeral last monthPicture: Hany Marzouk
DS Stephens told the court that when he returned to the roof days after the body was found, he noticed that a chimney had been damaged and a bracket had broken off and fallen to the alleyway below.
He added that Patrick may have been trying to use the chimney to get to a lower level so he could re-enter Zoo Bar when he fell to his death.
Dr Van Der Walt said the body showed no sign of injury other than abrasions and a laceration on his left hand. But upon further examination, he discovered “very severe” swelling of Mr Halpin’s brain.
The doctor said it had been caused by a concussive brain injury sustained by Mr Halpin when fell from the higher roof.
Asked by Mr Halpin’s sister, Regina, whether her brother had died quickly, Dr Van Der Walt said: “I believe when the deceased fell he would have lost consciousness”.
She then asked how long he might have been in that state before he died, to which the doctor replied “perhaps a few hours”.
He added that Mr Halpin would not have been in pain as he lay unconscious.
Coroner Angela Hodes then concluded the inquest, ruling that Mr Halpin died “as the result of an accident”.
In his evidence, DS Stephens also shed light on a “cruel twist” in the police investigation into Mr Halpin’s disappearance.
Just two hours before his body was discovered, police told Mr Halpin’s family he had been found safe and well at Gatwick Airport, where he was due to fly home with his university friends.
Blaming a “system failure”, DS Stephens told the court he was informed by Border Agency staff at the airport that Mr Halpin had been found with friends and police were with him.
DS Stephens asked the airport police to ask Mr Halpin whether he had been a victim of crime and relayed the news to the young man’s family.
Patrick Halpin left Zoo Bar, which can be seen in the middle of this photo, to make his way to Burger King. Photo:Malcolm McNallyBut DS Stephens was then left “angry” with Gatwick’s police after discovering they were not in fact with Mr Halpin. Instead a missing person alert had been triggered when Ryanair provided the Border Agency with details of the flight’s passengers hours before it was due to take off.
Mr Halpin’s name appeared on that list because he had checked in online on February 1, before he left Ireland for the trip.
After police entered the plane, they discovered Mr Halpin was not on board.
Turning to Mr Halpin’s parents, Paddy and Elsie, DS Stephens said: “I can only apologise for the system failure.”
He added that the system is designed to catch criminals, leading to consequences that are “not so tragic” when officers are called to an airport and the offender is not there.
Coroner Angela Hodes said she would be writing to the relevant authorities with a view to preventing any obstacles to police investigations in future.
The news comes a week after a final post-mortem found that the 18-year-old died of head injuries consistent with a fall.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said last week that the post-mortem concluded Patrick died from head injuries.
Foul play was ruled out as the cause of death as the results were made public.
A special mass was held for Patrick in Luton on Friday, March 21, at the Sacred Heart Church, where his family in Britain had gathered to remember the tragic teen.
