A teacher fell, banged his head and died as he was putting his trainers on to go to work, an inquest heard.
Patrick Guthrie’s sister Patricia received two voicemails from his school alerting her that he hadn’t attended classes for two days.
And when she went to her home address, where the English and film studies teacher had been staying, she found him dead in the living room.
Mr Guthrie, 31, had been a teacher at Hendon School since September 2023 and “immediately impressed” staff.
On Wednesday December 4, 2024, the school alerted his family that he had been off and hadn’t contacted them.
Ms Guthrie had been staying with their mother Jenny Murphy, and went to check on her brother, who was living at her flat in Mitchison Road, Islington.
She said the calls “really concerned me as it was very unlike Patrick. He has never missed work.”
The flat was deadlocked from the inside, St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard.
She found her brother lying on the floor of the living room with his head against a wall and his neck hyperextended.
Sgt Kevin Clark attended the address and noted a crack to the wall where it recessed into the window, consistent with Mr Guthrie having fallen and hit his head against it.
He also found a rucksack in the kitchen filled with work notes.
One of Mr Guthrie’s trainers was on and the other off, lending weight to the fact he was putting them on when he fell.
Sgt Clark said: “My opinion was that this was Mr Guthrie’s work stuff and that he was preparing to go to work.”
An autopsy was carried out by Dr Liina Palm, a consultant in histopathology at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
She found two areas of injury externally - a large bruise to the left side of Mr Guthrie’s forehead and bruising on his lower shin.
There was evidence of trauma to the teacher’s brain and it was heavier than expected, indicating swelling.
His heart was normal, but Dr Joseph Westaby, of St George’s Hospital, said that didn’t exclude Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), where the heart beats irregularly and causes cardiac arrest.
Dr Palm said she considered this may have happened because there were no protective marks found on the body.
These usually occur when someone is conscious and falls because they put their arms out to break their fall.
Mr Guthrie had suffered a fractured foot in February 2024 and another theory was suggested - that he fell while putting his trainers on due to pain from the healing foot trauma.
But Dr Palm said: “It’s very difficult to support this theory that somebody fully conscious wouldn’t try to break their fall.”
She gave his causes of death as a brain injury, positional asphyxia, cardiac arrest and Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.
A toxicology report was completely clear - except for caffeine, which again suggested Mr Guthrie may have been leaving for work.
Ms Guthrie told the court the family were undergoing testing to see if there was a genetic cause for the SADS.
She added: “It was such a shock, for someone that was so healthy.”
Assistant coroner for Inner North London, Ian Potter, recorded a conclusion of natural causes.
He said: “He likely had a form of acute cardiac arrhythmia causing him to fall as a result of losing consciousness.”
Hendon School said at the time of Mr Guthrie’s death that he was known for his “diligent, hard work.”
The school added: “Patrick loved being a teacher. He saw English teaching as more than just a job - it was a vocation.
“Our thoughts are obviously with Patrick’s family at this difficult time.
“It is hard to imagine the shock and grief that his mother, sister and extended family must be experiencing at losing such an essentially kind and decent son, brother and uncle.
“It has been especially touching to see the reaction of the students to this sad event.
“Their moments of reflection and the numerous, heartfelt additions to the book of condolence are evidence of what the staff here have always known: Hendon School students are genuinely kind and caring.
“They are the reason why the staff here work so hard. Patrick knew this. And no one worked harder than Patrick.”
