Chatchawan Thongpi, 31, is believed to have left his hotel to smoke some CBD
with his partner after falling into a Venice canal, an inquest has heard. The 31-year-old man is believed to have lost his balance while walking around the city inAn inquest heard mechanical engineer Chatchawan Thongpia, who was living in Scarborough but also said to reside at Brooklands Farm in Exeter, was starting a five-day trip in Venice with his partner Samantha Lichfield.
Mr Thongpia left the hotel on the first night of their stay to smoke some CBD, which he had bought that day, while Ms Lichfield said she decided to stay behind. In her statement, Ms Lichfield, said Mr Thongpia, who was born in Thailand, was going to find a quiet alley to smoke in so no-one could smell it.
She said: "As time was going on I was getting more and more anxious, I didn’t expect him to be gone for very long.
"Coroner’s Court heard a witness had been walking around Campo Santa Marina at around 6.30pm when they saw a body in the water. He tried to grab the person through the bars of a bridge, but could not hold on to him because of the strong current. The witness asked another family on the bridge to contact the emergency services. They attended but could not resuscitate Mr Thongpia when he was recovered.
The inquest heard Ms Lichfield had been trying to get some sleep but was woken by the hotel receptionist telling her the police were downstairs. A report from the Italian police said some of Mr Thongpia’s movements had been captured on CCTV, but not the moment he went into the canal. They said he was believed to have "accidentally fallen into the water, presumably after losing his balance" and was transported tens of metres because of the strong current.
A post-mortem examination found that Mr Thongpia did not have any injuries that suggested he had been assaulted. It was also concluded there was not any third party involvement in his death. A cannabinoid was found in Mr Thongpia's system, which the pathologist said was likely to have been consumed three hours earlier. His report said it was "possible but not probable" that this had caused Mr Thongpia’s motor skills to be impaired.
The medical cause of death was drowning. Coroner Catherine Devereux said police believed Mr Thongpia may have leaned against a railing and accidentally fallen into the water. But she told the hearing: "No-one witnessed how he came to be in the canal that evening.
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