A builder whose body was found inside a fire-ravaged hotel had been struggling with gambling and drug debts before taking his own life, an inquest has heard.
Adrian Raileanu, 33, died after a blaze tore through a derelict seaside property.
Emergency services were called to the fire at around 4:35pm, with firefighters tackling flames that engulfed part of the abandoned building.
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A man’s body was later discovered inside the property.
The incident initially sparked a major police investigation, with officers working to establish how the fire had started.
A man was arrested on suspicion of murder but was later released on bail while enquiries continued.
An inquest has now heard that Adrian, who worked as a builder, had been facing significant personal difficulties in the months before his death, as reported by Need To Know.
The hearing, held in Truro on Monday (22 June), was told he had accumulated substantial gambling and drug-related debts and had been under increasing pressure.
CCTV showed Mr Raileanu entering the former hotel through the back at 3pm and never emerging from it again.
Detective Constable Stephen Carroll, from Newquay CID, who led the investigation into the fire, said that on the morning of his death, Mr Raileanu walked into Newquay Police Station and asked what he needed to do to be put in prison.
He said: “He walked into the police station and asked what he needed to do to be arrested.
“Two officers spoke to him and he told them his story of being in debt and of his drug addiction.
“He was offered support but he refused it.”
Andrew Cox, the senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said Mr Raileanu had come to Newquay from London to work on various construction projects.
He was noted for his absence due to depression and he had accrued a “significant drug and gambling debt”.
Concluding in a suicide death, Mr Cox said: “It is more likely than not that he took his own life and intended to do so.”
The tragedy prompted an outpouring of grief from family and friends.
Adrian’s mother later launched a fundraising appeal in his memory and described him as a loving father and hardworking man whose death had devastated those closest to him.
The fire broke out at the former Narrowcliff Hotel complex in Newquay, Cornwall, a derelict seaside property earmarked for redevelopment, on 22 July last year.
Large plumes of smoke could be seen billowing into the sky as firefighters battled the blaze, while nearby roads were closed.
Residents were urged to keep windows and doors shut because of the smoke spreading across the area.
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