A British property expert found in his Vietnam hotel room suffered an ‘unnatural death’, an inquest has heard.
Sales specialist Harleigh Jones, 25, was based in Ho Chi Minh City, where he helped international buyers.
He died in a hotel room on June 12, 2025, and a cocktail of prescription medication was found in his system.
An inquest, held in Harleigh’s hometown of Pontypridd, was told he was repatriated to South Wales, where a post-mortem examination was carried out.
Pathologist Dr Jason Shannon gave his provisional cause of death as the combined effects of gabapentin, pregabalin, olanzapine and benzodiazepines.
‘I have sufficient reason to suspect that his death is unnatural,’ Coroner Graeme Hughes said.
‘Following the post-mortem and toxicology reports, it appears that drugs were involved in the cause of his death.’
The inquest was adjourned for a date to be fixed.
Football fan Harleigh described himself online as an ‘International Property Specialist’ and a ‘Brand and Communications Manager’.
He worked across South Asia as well as in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, helping expats to invest in foreign properties.
After his death, his mother wrote on social media: ‘Heartbroken. My forever young, beautiful, blue-eyed boy.
‘Words could never describe the pain I feel right now that I will never hold you in my arms again.
‘That cheeky smile. That infectious laugh that we will all remember you for. You will always be Mammy’s boy. Love you forever and ever, my handsome baby Harlz.’
In early 2025, a British woman and her South African fiancé died as a result of methanol poisoning in a hotel they had run for 10 months together.
Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and Arno Els Quinton, 36, bought a bottle of homemade limoncello on Christmas Eve from a local restaurant.
Social media manager Greta was found on her bed, while barista and streamer Arno’s body was discovered in a room where he kept his musical instruments.
Complaining to her parents over WhatsApp the day after drinking, Otteson described it as ‘the worst hangover ever’ and said she was seeing ‘black spots’. She wanted to ‘sleep it off’.
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