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Sampo Ronkainen |
Girlfriend surfed net as goth lay dead
Inquest told 16-year-old suspected ‘something was wrong’ but did not call ambulance
A TEENAGER involved in a death cult website spent up to three hours on the computer while her boyfriend lay dead next door, an inquest has heard.
English literature and history graduate Sampo Ronkainen, known by his middle name Tapani, died in May at his home in Sussex Way, off Seven Sisters Road, Holloway, after clubbing at popular goth night Slimelight, in Angel club Elekrowerkz.
A St Pancras inquest heard on Tuesday that, despite Mr Ronkainen’s girlfriend, 16-year-old Jessica Moos, being at home when he died, an ambulance was called only when his flatmate, Martin Traverse, returned home unexpectedly.
Finnish-born Mr Ronkainen, 27, an IT consultant and part-time DJ, was a well-known face in the goth and industrial music scene around Islington. He did not take drugs and was teetotal.
An epileptic, he had been prescribed medication in his home country but had not taken it since moving to London in 2005, his friends said.
Describing the events of that night, Mr Traverse said he found his friend stiff and cold with his face down in the pillows and his arms firmly by his sides.
He said: “Jess said she wanted to speak to me about Tapani. I said: ‘Can it wait?’ and she said: ‘It’s important. He had a fit earlier in the day and then went to sleep. I think you should go and check his breathing’.”
The inquest heard Ms Moos – who “rejoiced” in death on her fantasy website – suspected her boyfriend was dead from 8pm onwards but did not call an ambulance. Instead, Mr Ronkainen’s girlfriend of three months – the last person to see him alive – continued chatting with friends on social networking sites, according to police.
Mr Traverse returned home after 10pm to find his flatmate “cold to the touch”.
A plea by Mr Traverse for the investigation to be adjourned – in order to summon key witness Ms Moos to the witness box – was rejected by coroner Gail Elliman.
She said she would have considered postponing the hearing at the request of the family, from Helsinki, but in their absence was willing to proceed.
Instead, she relied on an interview with the teenager conducted by Detective Constable Tony Shaw.
Ms Moos, known in goth circles as Mia Hyde, is the moderator of an online cult called City Morgue, which bills itself as a “a haven to all those who do not fear death but rather rejoice in it” and are looking for “Corpse Brides”.
DC Shaw told the inquest Ms Moos was online “continuously” throughout the day of the death. He said when she checked on her boyfriend at around 8pm “subconsciously she knew something was wrong”.
He said she told him “perhaps I did know he was dead” but “didn’t want to believe it”.
At one stage Ms Elliman asked whether “youth or fear” were behind Ms Moos’ “cavalier approach” to her boyfriend’s death.
DC Shaw replied: “She’s very old for her age. She’s quite an old 16-year-old. There’s something quite strange about her.”
He believed she ignored the situation more out of a sense of “denial” than something “malicious”.
“She referred to his medication problems and said if he ever did have a seizure the best thing for him was to rest and be left alone,” he said.
Ms Elliman returned a verdict of death by natural causes after accepting pathologist Dr Freddy Patel’s opinion that Mr Ronkainen died from a brain swelling as a result of an epileptic fit.
At one stage Ms Elliman asked Dr Patel whether Mr Ronkainen could have been saved had paramedics reached him in time. He replied: “Not knowing the degree of the seizure it’s hard to answer but it’s possible intervention may not have been successful.”
Speaking after the inquest, Mr Ronkainen’s friend Michael Hughes said: “I’m certainly not happy that Jessica did not call an ambulance. My question is how long was she going to wait? I think we have a responsibility to call an ambulance in such a situation.”
His friends paid tribute to Mr Ronkainen’s love of life, dancing and DJ-ing and his open and happy nature.
“He was always looking for the best in people,” they added. |
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