logo
Man, 36, ‘slowly gassed to death' after car filled with deadly poison – as heartbroken sister fights for change in law

Man, 36, ‘slowly gassed to death' after car filled with deadly poison – as heartbroken sister fights for change in law

Scottish Sun28-04-2025

The driver was found slumped over the wheel by a dog walker
TRAGIC END Man, 36, 'slowly gassed to death' after car filled with deadly poison – as heartbroken sister fights for change in law
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
THE sister of a man who was "slowly killed" when his car filled up with a deadly gas is fighting for a change in the law.
Lucy Barnard, 25, lost her older brother Michael Barnard aged 36 after he inhaled a large amount of carbon monoxide exhaust over a period of weeks from his white Volkswagen Scirocco.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
3
Michael Barnard died in 2023 aged 36 after he inhaled a large amount of toxic carbon monoxide
Credit: SWNS
3
Lucy Barnard is the sister of a man who was 'slowly' gassed to death after his car's heating system filled his vehicle with a 'deadly' poison
Credit: SWNS
3
Michael's sister is urging road users to fit their cars with a 'life-saving' sensor
Credit: SWNS
The colourless gas entered the vehicle through a fault heating system.
Following the tragedy, Coroner Robert Cohen told a court how a dog walker raised the alarm after she saw Michael slumped in the driver's seat at around 6:35 am.
A forensic toxicologist later concluded Michael's carboxyhaemoglobin levels were at 63% which were consistent with death.
Michael was described as "alive, well, and happy" when he was sitting in his car for two hours listening to music with the heating switched on.
He did not know the heating was pushing the gas inside the vehicle on the evening before he was found dead.
The coroner ruled that Michael's death was a tragic accident as he did not know the car's heating was pushing the gas inside the vehicle on the evening before he was found dead.
Now two years on from the tragedy, Lucy, of Barrow, in Cumbria, is hoping to make it a legal requirement for carbon monoxide detectors to be fitted inside vehicles in the UK.
Lucy said: "My brother was driving his car for weeks unbeknown to him that his body was slowly being poisoned - that fateful evening pushed him over the edge.
"It was a massive shock for us all when we found out he had died, a huge hole in the family has been left.
"It's so important that people are made aware of this as it's vital to raise awareness because this will help to prevent deaths in the future.
"I never want anyone else to have to endure what we have been through."
Lucy has revealed that on August 17 2023 Michael went out for a drive in his car at around 12am before parking up at his favourite spot on Walney Beach in North Scale, Cumbria.
She then told how her brother sent a text to his then partner at 1am saying "something felt wrong" and that "he didn't feel well".
She then replied at 3am asking if he was okay but revealed that she got "no response" from Michael.
The inquest into Michael's death was heard at Cockermouth Coroners' Court on February 10 2024.
A court heard the vehicle had passed an MOT on April 3 despite having advisory warnings for a minor leak of gases from the front exhaust.
However, a forensic vehicle examiner found that there was no blame to be proportioned as he said the vehicle was considerably different to when it was presented in April having accumulated a further 9553 miles.
The court heard that Michael had also been in a 'turbulent relationship' with his then partner of three years and that he had been working at Windermere Aquatics and for Securitas at BAE Systems in order to save up money to put a deposit on a house.
Coroner Cohen said it was relevant to read into the record a sequence of text messages that Mike had sent to his partner on August 8, which he said implied Mr Barnard wanted to end the relationship and not his own life.
Coroner Cohen described his death as a 'tragic accident' which he recorded as carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of misadventure.
In the UK it is only a legal requirement for carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in rooms containing fixed combustion appliances, except gas cookers.
On April 25 Lucy started her petition calling on the government to take action in the wake of her brothers death.
She said: "Carbon monoxide is a very deadly silent killer because it has no smell.
"You have no idea you are being slowly brought to your death.
"You can buy sensors from local retailers such as Argos, B&Q and screw fix, as well as online at Amazon.
"I'm doing this in memory of him so no one else has to endure the pain that we had to go through."
Paying tribute to Michael, she said: "He was kind and would help anyone if they needed it.
"He loved being out in his car and enjoyed speed boating - he was a very family orientated man.
"I just want to make the best outcome of a bad situation."
The Sun has approached Volkswagen for comment.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Six members of ­Russian spy ring to have ‘too lenient' jail sentences reviewed
Six members of ­Russian spy ring to have ‘too lenient' jail sentences reviewed

Scottish Sun

time2 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

Six members of ­Russian spy ring to have ‘too lenient' jail sentences reviewed

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIX members of a ­Russian spy ring are to have their jail sentences reviewed for being too lenient, we can reveal. The Bulgarians — who lived and worked in ­the UK — plotted sex stings, and targeted Russian ­dissidents and journalists critical of President Vladimir Putin's war effort against Ukraine. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Russian Spy Vanya Gaberova was sentenced to eight years in jail Credit: Reuters 7 The operations was run out of a Great Yarmouth guesthouse Credit: PA The ring included lab worker Katrin Ivanova, 33, and beauty shop owner Vanya Gaberova, 30 — dubbed 'killer sexy brunettes' by cell leaders. Ivanova got nine years and eight months and Gaberova eight years. They were both found guilty in March of breaching the Official Secrets Act by conspiring to provide information useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023. Ivanova also got a concurrent sentence of 15 months for forged ID documents. read more on russia BRAND OF EVIL Ukrainian PoW released in swap left with 'Glory to Russia' burned on his body All six got a total of more than 50 years last month. The Attorney General's Office has been asked to consider the sentences under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The ULS scheme allows anyone to ask for a Crown Court sentence to be assessed by the Attorney General's office if they think it is too lenient. Law officers have 28 days from sentencing to make a decision. 7 Katrin Ivanova was sentenced to nine years and eight months Credit: Central News 7 Orlin Roussev ran the spy ring Credit: PA 7 Ivan Iliev Stoyanov was convicted of carrying out surveillance for Putin 7 Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev was also jailed for his part in the spy ring Credit: PA 7 Biser Dzhambazov was convicted as part of the ring Credit: PA Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.

Rapper Silentó gets 30-year sentence for murdering own cousin after getting felony charge dropped despite video evidence
Rapper Silentó gets 30-year sentence for murdering own cousin after getting felony charge dropped despite video evidence

Scottish Sun

time3 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

Rapper Silentó gets 30-year sentence for murdering own cousin after getting felony charge dropped despite video evidence

He admitted to the shooting just days after the crime KILLER RAPPER Rapper Silentó gets 30-year sentence for murdering own cousin after getting felony charge dropped despite video evidence Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RAPPER Silentó will spend 30 years in prison for shooting his cousin to death in 2021. Silentó, real name Ricky Hawk, is best known for his viral 2015 song Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae). Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Ricky Hawk in his mugshot at DeKalb County Sheriff's Office Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office 2 Silentó in July 2015, shortly after his song Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) was released Credit: AP Hawk, 27, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing the death of another. The Atlanta rapper was originally indicted on a felony charge of malice murder, but took a plea deal for lesser charges. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Hawk shot his cousin, Frederick Rooks III, dead early on the morning of January 21, 2021. Rooks, 34, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his face and leg. It is still unclear what led up to the shooting. Home security camera footage from the scene caught several cars speeding away and captured at least one gunshot, cops said. Hawk admitted to the shooting in an interview with investigators several days after it occurred, according to the DeKalb district attorney. Bullet casings found at the scene also matched a gun Hawk had when he was arrested. At the sentencing on Wednesday, Rooks' siblings said Hawk's sentencing should have been harsher. "We just want justice,' Rooks' brother told the judge, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. In 2021, Hawk's manager released a statement after his arrest asking fans for their support. "Please send my client Silentó some positive vibrations," the manager, Chanel Hudson, said at the time. "Over the past several years, Ricky has been suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses. "We will continue in his efforts of treatment, but we ask in the meantime the public uplift him and his family in immediate prayer and positive energy!! "Ricky is a beautiful soul, and we hope that the same people who came up whipping' & nay nay-in with him, continue to support him and lifted in prayer!! God bless." RISE TO FAME Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) was released when Hawk was just a junior in high school in Stone Mountain, Georgia, near Atlanta. The song charted globally and started a social media trend of people doing a dance associated with the song. Hawk's first full-length album came out in 2019. The next year, Hawk was arrested twice - once for driving 143 miles per hour on the highway and another time for breaking into a random home in Los Angeles with a hatchet. Hawk's sentence includes credit for the time he's served in DeKalb County Jail since February 1, 2021.

I watched ISIS burn my pilot brother alive in a cage – I begged the air force to bomb jail so he'd be spared cruel death
I watched ISIS burn my pilot brother alive in a cage – I begged the air force to bomb jail so he'd be spared cruel death

Scottish Sun

time5 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

I watched ISIS burn my pilot brother alive in a cage – I begged the air force to bomb jail so he'd be spared cruel death

His mother was hospitalised after hearing of her son's cruel killing and his sister was diagnosed with diabetes LEFT TO DIE I watched ISIS burn my pilot brother alive in a cage – I begged the air force to bomb jail so he'd be spared cruel death Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE brother of a pilot who was burned alive in Syria by ISIS said he begged air forces to bomb the jail where he was being held to spare him a cruel death. Speaking at the Stockholm district court on Wednesday, Jawdat al-Kassasbeh recounted the turmoil he and his family have endured since his brother Maaz al-Kassasbeh was savagely killed. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Muath Al-Kasasbeh, 26, pictured trapped inside the cage in the horrific ISIS execution video 6 The gruesome 2015 footage showed him being set alight 6 Militants with the captured pilot Credit: AP:Associated Press The Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot was shot down in Raqqa, Syria, in December 2014. A few weeks later, ISIS released a video of al-Kasasbeh being burned alive in a cage. Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old Swede already serving long prison sentences for his role in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016, is on trial in Stockholm for his role in the pilot's killing. The slain pilot's brother told the court of the physical and psychological trauma he and his family have suffered since his sibling's death. He said he learned of his capture through a relative who worked at Jordan's foreign ministry and immediately headed to the air force headquarters. He said: "There, I see that the head of the air force and the operations teams are having a meeting on the subject... There were large screens showing images of Syria. He told me: 'I think he's in this house', "Psychologically, I was not doing well at that moment. So I told the head of the air force that ... I thought (IS fighters) would kill him in a horrible way. "I asked if it would be possible to bomb the house so he could be spared an atrocious death," he added. Jawdat later found out about his brother's death on TV. He said: "It was a shock. I watched the whole video but in bits. I couldn't watch the entire video until 2021." He added that the cruel nature in which his brother was killed took a massive toll on the whole family, in particular his mother who had to be hospitalised. I fought ISIS in Syria & I know bloodthirsty thugs are plotting comeback after fall of Assad - Europe must be ready, says Brit fighter Jawdat also puts his sister's diabetes down to his brother's torturous death, as well as his dad's hypertension and poor mental health. The court hearing comes as another ISIS leader believed to have also been involved in burning the Jordanian pilot to death was captured. Syrian national Saddam al-Jamal was captured in Iraq after being lured from Syria by intelligence officers using the phone of Ismail al-Ethawi, an ISIS lieutenant captured in February. Tipped as a future leader of the terrorist organisation, al-Jamal was known for his brutality. Jordanian authorities accused him of also being behind the brutal execution of downed pilot. A former commander in the Free Syrian Army which fought against President Bashar al-Assad's forces, al-Jamal had also taken part in multiple atrocities including a 2014 massacre in Deir Ezzor, Syria, in which 700 members of a tribe opposed to ISIS were killed. He also ordered the execution of children, sometimes in front of their parents. Al-Ethawi, who was captured in February, was a top aide to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Intelligence officers used his account on Telegram, a social media app favoured by terror organisations because it encrypts messages, to lure the other four high-ranking leaders out of Syria. The five of them were on a group chat together. Iraqi security adviser Hisham al Hashemi told The Telegraph that Iraqi troops were surprised to see the four senior senior jihadists travel on motorcycles, having expecting them to arrive in a motorcade. Al-Hashemi also said that American troops also took part in the operation. ISIS field commanders Mohamed al-Qadeer, Issam Abdel Kader al-Zawba'i and Omar Shehab El-Karboul were also captured in the sting, which has been praised by Donald Trump. 'Five Most Wanted leaders of ISIS just captured,' the US president posted on Twitter last week. 6 Jordanian pilot executed by ISIS 6 Saddam al-Jamal pictured in images broadcast on Iraqi TV

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store