He had spent the night in the covered doorway with his girlfriend and two other men, but couldn’t be woken the next morning, and so emergency services were called before he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police cordoned off the area outside House of Fraser. Photo: The Lincolnite
He was named locally by his brother Stefan Hunter, who commented on The Lincolnite’s story saying: “RIP brother, you will be loved and missed.”
A post mortem examination found that Lee’s cause of death was drug toxicity as a result of taking synthetic cannabis.
An inquest found that Lee had been using Mamba, as well as epilepsy drug pregabalin, which slows the central nervous system.
Lincolnshire Police found no suspicious circumstances with Lee Hunter’s death, though his medical history showed he had become “over-reliant on alcohol and possibly new psychoactive substances” while suffering from depression in 2015.
Acting Senior Coroner Paul Smith said that Mr. Hunter had been taken to A&E after taking Mamba on two separate occasions, in December 2017 and March 2018.
He also had to be treated in the street by paramedics in August 2018, as well as collapsing outside the New Theatre Royal two days before his eventual death.
As well as this, Mr Hunter, while at Addaction in January 2020, admitted to staff that he was taking heroin daily.
He then served a three month sentence in prison, for an unspecified offence, before being released in June 2020 and being clean of drugs.
Paul Smith said: “The past behaviour of abusing synthetic cannabinoids appears to be reflected in the circumstances that led to his death.”
A fundraiser was set up to help Lee’s family at the time, with a target of £500 being greatly exceeded and eventually earning £1,900.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
Revamped News Feed: Enjoy faster loading times and smoother scrolling that make catching up on local news a breeze.
New Play Video Feed: Dive into a dynamic video feed that brings local stories to life in a whole new way.
Enhanced In-App Browser: Access external links quickly and efficiently, right from the app, without any distractions.
Update your MyLocal app from your app store (version 2.73) now and start enjoying these great new features today!
P.S.: Start your MyLocal membership today to support MyLocal and The Lincolnite deliver you a better local news experience and honest journalism from across Lincolnshire.
P.P.S.: We have some huge things in the pipeline, stay tuned!
Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
Revamped News Feed: Enjoy faster loading times and smoother scrolling that make catching up on local news a breeze.
New Play Video Feed: Dive into a dynamic video feed that brings local stories to life in a whole new way.
Enhanced In-App Browser: Access external links quickly and efficiently, right from the app, without any distractions.
Update your MyLocal app from your app store (version 2.73) now and start enjoying these great new features today!
P.S.: Start your MyLocal membership today to support MyLocal and The Lincolnite deliver you a better local news experience and honest journalism from across Lincolnshire.
P.P.S.: We have some huge things in the pipeline, stay tuned!