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Body in flat for week after deadly night in
A TUNISIAN man was left dead in his Yorkshire home for almost a week after taking a deadly cocktail of drink and drugs with his lover.
Ziad Nouri, 33, who lived a flat in Fulmar Road, Half Acres, Castleford, was in a relationship with Belinda Bailey at the time of his death, an inquest at Wakefield Coroner's Court heard.
The inquest heard that on the evening of October 4 last year, Mr Nouri, who worked as a cleaner at the Xscape Leisure Complex, Castleford, had gone out drinking in the area.
Later that evening, he contacted Miss Bailey, who lived at a women's hostel in Castleford.
After picking her up in a taxi, the pair went to buy some strong lager then went on to Mr Nouri's flat.
During the course of the evening, both had drunk and taken methadone, an opiate prescribed to heroin addicts to wean them away from drugs.
It was unclear why Mr Nouri, known to friends as Alex, who had no significant history of drug use, would have taken the drug, the court heard.
In the early hours of the following morning, Miss Bailey left Mr Nouri on the bed in his flat, locking the door behind her and taking his keys.
Mobile phone records showed she had sent him a text saying she would drop the keys round the following day.
Residents at the hostel made claims they had been told that Miss Bailey had said she "drugged" Mr Nouri to steal money from him.
It was not until Saturday, October 11 that Miss Bailey contacted police concerning Mr Nouri's welfare and paramedics and police found his body at his home.
Det Insp Adrian Taylor of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Enquiries Team (HMET) headed up the investigation and interviewed residents at the hostel as well as Miss Bailey.
She refused to answer a number of questions in interviews, he told the court.
A file was later forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service who decided there was insufficient evidence to press charges.
A post-mortem report concluded alcohol mixed with methadone had combined to cause Mr Nouri's death.
Det Insp Taylor said Miss Bailey had been asked to attend Thursday's inquest but failed to answer and could not be traced.
West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff recorded an open verdict.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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