A POST mortem examination on two men found in a Dublin citycentre flat has determined that one died of a drug overdose. The other was asphyxiated.
However, gardai said the examination showed no signs of foul play and there was no suggestion of murder. The full details of the causes of the deaths would not emerge until an inquest was held.
The two have been named as Mr Barry Heffernan (21), and Mr Gavin Dalton (24), both of Sandymount. Mr Heffernan, a student teacher, died of asphyxiation and may have choked on his own vomit.
Mr Dalton, who was unemployed, apparently died of a drug overdose. Details of the drugs found were not released, but a bottle of physeptone tablets, a substitute for heroin, was found in the Parnell Street bedsitter.
The bodies were found at lunchtime on Friday. The letting agent had broken down the door of the flat after other residents said they had seen no sign of Mr Heffernan since the previous Wednesday night. The door of the flat was bolted from within, suggesting no one else was involved in the deaths.
Both men had been drinking on Wednesday night and returned to the flat at about midnight. The flat had been rented to Mr Heffernan three weeks earlier. The single bed room included a mattress on the floor, suggesting that Mr Dalton had been staying with Mr Heffernan. Both men were fully clothed when found.