Steelworker who survived a severed penis dies of auto-erotic asphyxiation, inquest hears

Kelly Hewitt, 41, was covered in blue paint with a ligature around his neck and another round what remained of his penis when he was discovered last month

A steelworker who survived having his penis and testicles severed last year might have died as a result of auto-erotic asphyxiation, an inquest has heard.

Kelly Hewitt, 41, was covered in blue paint with a ligature around his neck and another round what remained of his penis when he was discovered in his caravan at a travellers' site in South Bank, Middlesbrough, last month.

During the hearing at Teesside Coroner's Court, it emerged that his family suspected Mr Hewitt might have caused the severe injuries to his groin when he was found in a distressed state by the A66 in March last year.

Teesside coroner Clare Bailey, sitting in Middlesbrough, said using the ligatures "may have been an act of some sort of erotic nature."

She concluded the hard-working and much-loved father of six children and two grandchildren died as a result of misadventure.

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