Teenage Boxer Dies After Drug Binge, Coroner Issues Ketamine Warning

The death of 18-year-old Calum Naylor, who died after consuming a cocktail of drugs including ketamine, has led to a coroner issuing a warning about the prevalence and dangers of the powerful tranquilizer.

Naylor had been on a night out with workmates on December 6, 2024, which involved drinking and drug use. After being denied entry to a lap-dancing bar due to his age, he was given £80 by colleagues and went to a pub before attending a house party in Notting Hill. There, he consumed vodka and snorted ketamine.

Friends were unable to wake him the following morning. An ambulance was called, but Naylor died later that day in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Toxicology tests later revealed he had ingested a combination of Xanax, ecstasy, cocaine, and ketamine.

Senior coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox issued a stark warning about ketamine, which is currently a Class B drug and reportedly used by around 270,000 people in England and Wales. "Our young people seem to be taking these drugs with abandon," she stated. "It is terrifying to hear people talking about Calum 'just being in a K-hole' or people taking 'a little bit of ketamine' - there is no 'little bit'. That is the sort of thing that keeps people with more medical experience up at night."

The Inner West London Coroners' Court heard that Naylor had been drinking with colleagues and went to a strip club before meeting friends. One friend, Oscar Fremanis, stated in a court document that Naylor had mentioned taking "pink cocaine," a mixture of cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, and Viagra, and appeared intoxicated.

Naylor and his friends later went to a house party hosted by a 17-year-old. Upon arriving around 2 a.m. on December 7, attendees observed Naylor was heavily intoxicated. He drank more vodka and snorted ketamine before lying down on a bed where other guests were sleeping. Fremanis described Naylor as being in a "K-hole," a state of dissociation caused by ketamine.

Around 6 a.m., the party host attempted to wake Naylor, noting his skin appeared gray and he was cold to the touch. Attempts to rouse him were unsuccessful, and eventually, an ambulance was called. Paramedics arrived and performed CPR, managing to restart his heart, but Naylor remained unconscious and died that evening in the hospital.

Paramedic Mark Faulkner testified that even if the ambulance had been called earlier, it might have been too late. He noted that Naylor's death was indicative of the dangers of mixing ketamine and cocaine, stating there is no antidote.

Naylor's mother, Kelly Gorman, described her son as a "kind" and "loving boy" who was always inclusive. He had a promising boxing career, with tryouts for the England schoolboys team and the nickname "Calum 'No Fear' Naylor." He had paused his boxing to pursue an apprenticeship as a plasterer on film sets.

A friend, Jackson Rigby, told the court that Naylor had begun taking drugs more regularly after attending a festival in August 2023, sometimes using them alone to avoid appearing addicted. Rigby noted that Naylor became "very slow" and his habits changed, including eating more fast food and consuming energy drinks alongside drugs.

Professor Wilcox ruled Naylor's death a drug-related misadventure, with the cause of death being multiple drug toxicity.