2 US businessmen had used cocaine: relatives
Two American businessmen found dead last year in a Grand Hyatt Hotel room had used cocaine in the past and one had asked his secretary to deliver HK$10,000 to his room hours before the bodies were discovered, an inquest heard yesterday.
Richard Victore, 51, and his nephew Paul Cherry, 45, had been dead at least six hours before a room service waiter found them unresponsive in room 2408 on the afternoon of Friday, October 26, the court was told.
Waiter Li Chun-yu, who was on a routine delivery, said he found Victore lying on his back with froth around his month, while Cherry was kneeling next to him with his arms stretched out touching his uncle.
Victore's widow, Maria Parsons, said in a police statement that her husband needed regular medication and injections for heart disease and diabetes. He had told her he had taken cocaine in 1994 but had stopped the next year.
Cherry's younger sister, Carol, 44, who worked for her brother's company in the US, told the court he was in good health. Although she had 'heard' he had used cocaine, his use was 'seldom and not habitual'.
Twelve witnesses were called yesterday to find out what happened during the final hours of the two Americans, who travelled regularly to Hong Kong for business and arrived separately in the city on October 10.
