A PhD student was found dead at his home near Oxford after taking an overdose of prescribed antidepressants.

Jonathan Willis, 44, of Hollow Furlong in Cassington, was found dead at his home on December 23.

Mr Willis was found by a friend and empty pill packets were found on the floor of his home.

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The friend was prompted by Mr Willis’s brother, Mark Willis, to check on him as he had not read or returned his text messages and calls.

South Central Ambulance was alerted to the incident and responded to the cardiac arrest at 5.45pm and he was pronounced dead at 5.52pm.

Mr Willis had a history of depression and anxiety and he had been prescribed antidepressants since 2004.

A toxicology report stated that various drugs were detected in Mr Willis’s blood including antidepressants and alcohol.

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Venlafaxine, an antidepressant which was found in his system was a prescribed medication, however, high levels of the drug were found, indicating an overdose of this drug was a likely cause of death.

At an inquest into the death at Oxford Coroner's Court yesterday, coroner Nicholas Graham read out a statement from Mr Willis’ Brother.

He said: “He would not do this intentionally; he was close to finishing his PhD and had work coming up in London.”

Mr Willis had planned to volunteer for the homeless charity Crisis at Christmas in London in the coming days and no letter was found in his home when he died.

The coroner concluded Mr Willis took an overdose of prescribed medication, but said he saw no evidence of a serious intent to commit suicide.