A “positive and kind” Exeter University student was found dead by housemates at his student accommodation, Portland House.
An inquest heard that 20-year-old Di Al, known as Andy, was found deceased in his room on 1st March 2025.
Assistant Coroner Ian Arrow told the court that two of Andy’s friends, who were fellow students, grew concerned after not hearing from him for 16 hours, Devon Live reports.
The two friends entered his room with a security guard and found him deceased on the bed. CPR was carried out until paramedics arrived, but Andy was pronounced dead at 11:30pm. His death was ruled to be drug-related.
Held at County Hall in Exeter, the inquest heard that Andy was born in Beijing and lived with family in Hong Kong before coming to the UK as a teenager, where he attended Taunton School.
Andy had been living in Exeter since 2023 when he started a psychology degree.
University records showed Andy was a committed student with good attendance and strong marks in his psychology course.
He was said to participate well in class and had no recorded concerns. While the university said he had occasionally taken recreational drugs, it confirmed this behaviour was not uncommon among young students.
His cousin, Terry Liu, said he had been generally fit and healthy, regularly attended the gym, and played rugby. He added that Andy had shown no signs of mental health difficulties.
Terry said: “He was a positive and kind person, always helping people out.
“He likes sports and playing video games. He was always caring for other people.”
A post-mortem revealed a fatal combination of two non-prescription drugs, with the cause of death being mixed drug toxicity.
The 20-year-old had reportedly been treated in hospital in the past for an accidental overdose of ketamine.
Assistant coroner Ian said: “Sadly, it appears on the balance of probabilities that Andy has consumed two drugs which were not prescribed.
“These drugs have brought about the depression of his respiratory system and death.”
If you have been affected by any of the topics raised in this article, Exeter students can find access to wellbeing services here.
You can contact the Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123.
You can contact Shout, a 24/7 text messaging service, by texting the word “Shout” to 85258.
Featured image via Google Maps
