Death caused by heart condition, inquest rules

Thursday 16 March 2017

An inquest has heard how a 36-year-old-man died in January of 'sudden arrhythmogenic death syndrome' (SADS).

Peter Gregory Zambon was found dead in his flat on January 16 with no sign of injury or of drug abuse, after his family had been unable to get hold of him over the weekend, either by phone or Facebook.

Peter's father had phoned his son's office on the Monday and asked to speak to him, but discovered he wasn't in and hadn't called in sick, the Inquest heard. He then let himself into his son's flat and found Peter lying in bed with a laptop by his side. 

A former De La Salle college student, he was described as fit and regularly attended the gym. He was last seen by friends at a gathering on Friday 13 January. 

Consultant pathologist Dr Bruce Lyons said his external and internal examination showed no abnormality in the major organs. 

The final diagnosis of Professor Mary Sheppard, who acted as consultant cardiac pathologist, was that Peter died of "sudden arrhythmogenic death syndrome", which indicates an irregular rhythm of the heart.

Peter's father thanked Dr Lyons, especially for the extra research that he did after meeting with the family, as well as Tony Forder, the Police Viscount's Liaison Officer and the officers that worked on the case.

Deputy Viscount Advocate Mark Harris closed the Inquest stating that the cause of death was SADS and that Peter's death had occurred sometime over the weekend.