A MIDDLE-AGED man lay dead in his St Helier flat for five weeks before his body was found by police, an inquest heard yesterday.

Vincenzo Marino (58), originally from Gagliano del Capo in Italy, was found dead on his bed with a half-eaten pizza lying next to him on Wednesday 15 August. A receipt for the pizza showed that it had been delivered to his home at 16 Manor Court, Undercliffe Road, over one month earlier, on 11 July. ‘It is a very sad state of affairs that this poor man was not found sooner than this,’ said the Deputy Viscount, Peter de Gruchy. Mr de Gruchy’s verdict stated that the cause of death was unknown owing to the advanced state of decomposition of Mr Marino’s body. Toxicology tests showed that it was possible that he could have died of heart disease or excess alcohol consumption. PC Sean Keveny told the inquest that the maintenance manager of Manor Court had called the States police on 15 August after becoming concerned about a large number of flies that appeared in the building. On arrival at the premises, PC Keveny found a strong smell present as they came around the corner which he said would have been too bad for anyone not to notice. He told the inquest that there were no signs of a struggle and that they were not treating his death as suspicious.