Further tests needed to establish cause of 37-year-old's death, inquest told

The hearing was held at Sunderland Coroner's Court, based at the city's civic centre.

Stephen John Gallagher, of Milton Avenue, Houghton, died on Wednesday, February 26.

An inquest opened by Sunderland’s senior coroner Derek Winter at Sunderland Civic Centre heard police attended his address and were satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances or any third party involvement in his death.

Further details of a post mortem examination are expected to take a number of weeks to be returned, with the final hearing scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 9, at 10am.

Mr Winter told the hearing he was satisfied his duty to investigate was in line with the Coroners and Justice Act, as initial inquiries found Mr Gallagher’s had died due to unnatural causes and further information was needed about the circumstances.

He said if details came to light ahead of the June 9 hearing, he said another hearing would be scheduled sooner.