Joe Harker
A man died during his 40th birthday celebrations after being put in a 'guillotine hold' by a friend, an inquest has said.
David Toulson had visited a drag brunch in Manchester's Gay Village with James Johnson and two other friends on 25 June, 2022 before returning to his home in Adelphi Wharf, Salford.
According to police, they received a call at 5:25pm that day about concern over a person's welfare and when the emergency services arrived, David was pronounced dead at the scene and it was Johnson who had called the police saying he thought he had killed David.
After his death, his family said in a statement: "It’s with a heavy heart and disbelief that our beloved son, brother and uncle Dave, tragically lost his life on 25th June 2022.
"As a family we are heartbroken beyond belief to have lost him so young. He will be forever in our hearts and missed by many."
Johnson was charged with murder and remanded in custody, though in July 2023 he was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter at Manchester Crown Court.
The Manchester Evening News reports that at the trial ,Johnson testified that he was afraid he had been 'drugged' and feared that he was going to be 'raped or sexually assaulted'. After his arrest, he had told police officers he'd taken some white powder he believed to be cocaine and then began to feel unwell.
Cocaine and ketamine were found in the bloodstream of both David Toulson and James Johnson.
He told the court he had put David in something he called a 'guillotine chokehold' and 'kept hold of his friend until he felt it was safe to let go'.
An inquest held in Bolton this week heard that asphyxiation from compression on David's neck was the likely cause of death, and 'such pressure would need to be sustained for probably several minutes'.
The inquest was told that there was 'significant' bruising on David's neck, as well as deep soft tissue damage, along with 'excessive bruising and fractures' to his larynx.
Johnson told the inquest he remembered 'putting the lock on' and then 'blacking out or passing out', and that when he came to he was 'still in the hold' and didn't know how long that had been.
David's sister, Marie Buckley, told the inquest that he had been 'a supportive brother and friend' and as someone who 'was jovial and loved life'.
She said: "Even though he would make jovial [sexual] references, he would never cross that line to the point of making someone uncomfortable. That was never his intention - and that’s not who he was as a person, certainly not in my presence.
"My brother has been portrayed as a sexual predator. He’s not here to have his own voice. Hopefully what it allows me to do is have that platform to tell you about David and to highlight that it wasn’t one sided banter - it was mutual.
"When I received David's belongings back, I wasn't able to see full conversations, but what I saw is that it shows the sexual banter and context wasn’t just one sided. It was initiated from Mr Johnson as well. The banter was very much mutual.
"My voice is David’s voice. My brother sustained a violent and prolonged attack."