Two Western tourists died Monday in what authorities are calling separate, drug-related incidents, police said Tuesday.
Dowling Edward, a 46-year-old Englishman, died Monday in a room at the Royal Highness Hotel on Street 172, Chey Chumneah commune Police Chief Long Chhorn said.
Edwards was found dead Monday at 1:30 pm by his roommate, Yin Sophan, police said. Edwards died sitting in an arm chair, where police said they found him with scarred wrists and a bloody nose. The police autopsy concluded that Edwards died of a drug overdose, Long Chhorn said.
Also on Monday, an Australian man fell to his death from the tin roof of the Number 9 Guest House, a popular backpacker destination near Boeng Kak lake in Srah Chak commune, Daun Penh district.
Blake Leder of Darwin was sitting on the thin metal roof with a cloth over his head when he plummeted into the lake approximately 3 meters below, according to Owen Kelly, a tourist from Ireland.
Guest house employees pulled Leder’s body from beneath the floorboards of neighboring Guest House Number 10 approximately 20 minutes later, Kelly said.
Friends said Leder was not a drug user, although police said they detected drugs while performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Police said Leder was 29 years old, but several friends said he was 18.
