Man with cleaning obsession killed by Dettol

Published on 29/05/2007 01:08

A MAN died after becoming obsessed with cleaning his home and himself with Dettol, an inquest heard.

Recluse Jacques Niemand, 42, used vast amounts of the disinfectant for keeping his home clean and washing himself, an inquest heard. Children in the area nicknamed him "The Dettol Man" and more than 100 bottles of the disinfectant were found at his flat.

An inquest in Manchester found that Mr Niemand's over-exposure to the cleaning agent resulted in a fatal lack of oxygen in his system.

His sister, Ruth Bain, said she would not go into his flat in Didsbury, because it was "stifling".

Police officers who visited the flat following Mr Niemand's death later suffered aches and pains after being "overpowered" by the smell of cleaning products.

After Mr Niemand's death last July Mrs Bain found a suitcase crammed with about 100 bottles of Dettol. Empty bottles were also littered around the flat, along with several buckets containing the fluid. Mrs Bain said her brother had suffered for years from an obsessive cleaning disorder.

Lorna McWilliam, a pathologist, said it was difficult to say whether the exposure had been through ingestion or inhalation.

Mrs Bain added that Mr Niemand had not seen his GP for more than 15 years because he feared he would be detained under the Mental Health Act.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, the coroner said it was "a most unusual kind of death".