Wealthy builder's strychnine death appeared unsuspicious, inquest told

Anthony Mooney, 47, died at his home near Hamilton on Father's Day in September 2008.

Post mortem tests showed he had suffered acute strychnine poisoning.

Senior Constable Anthony Pearson was one of the first police officers to attend the scene.

He told the inquest he watched paramedics as they tried to resuscitate Mr Mooney in a bedroom.

He said Mr Mooney's son and stepson were present and both appeared distressed.

Senior Constable Pearson took photos of Mr Mooney's body and searched the bedroom and a bathroom.

He said nothing appeared untoward and he did not consider the death suspicious.

He also took statements from two people about an altercation Mr Mooney had been involved in at a hotel the previous night.

Yesterday Professor Olaf Drummer, from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, told the inquest only nine cases of fatal strychnine poisoning have been recorded in Victoria and most were suicides.

The toxicologist told the inquest that Mr Mooney probably ingested the fatal dose of poison through something he ate or drank just before he died.

When they arrived at the property there was a distressed 20-year-old man walking around the driveway.

He later learned the man was Jeremy Johnson, Mr Mooney's stepson.

Sen-Constable Pearson said he went to a bedroom and saw a man wearing only underpants lying on his back on the floor.

The man was blue in colour and appeared to be dead but ambulance officers commenced efforts to try to revive him.

Mr Mooney's son Travis told Sen-Constable Pearson he had been attempting CPR on his father for 15 minutes.

The officer said he later took photographs of the scene in the bedroom and there appeared to be two 600ml Coca-Cola bottles on a table.

One of the Coke bottles was a quarter full.

Coroner Jacinta Heffey heard yesterday there were rumours in the Western District that Mr Mooney, 46, was slowly poisoned by strychnine in a tomato sauce bottle and there was expert evidence the lethal poison could have been disguised in Coca-Cola or food.

Sen-Constable Pearson said he was told on September 11 that Mr Mooney had died from pneumonia and there appeared to be nothing suspicious about the death.

It was only a month later he learned he had died from strychnine poisoning.

Mr Mooney died after his son Travis and Mr Johnson found him in severe pain and suffering seizures and convulsions on his bed.

Just over two hours earlier he had a meal of takeaway fried chicken.

Toxicology tests found he had swallowed massive amounts of strychnine poison shortly before his death at the Arrandoovong homestead near Hamilton.

Sen-Constable Pearson told the inquest that he was asked to investigate an incident at a local hotel involving Mr Mooney the night before the death.

He said he viewed CCTV footage from the hotel where it appeared Mr Mooney was involved in a scuffle with a man who had his shirt pulled off.

"No direct assaults were visible on the footage. although the deceased was seen to fall to the floor for a period of about ten seconds in a scuffle in the main bar," the officer said.

At one stage Mr Mooney went outside and returned. but he appeared to be uninjured.

Carpenter Steven Daniels, who worked for Mr Mooney, said he learned after his boss's death that he had been using strychnine to kill pests at the homestead property.

Mr Daniels said a week before he died Mr Mooney appeared lethargic but on September 6 he saw him at a local footy game and he appeared full of energy.

Mr Johnson also worked at his stepfather's business but he was eventually told there was not enough work and he was let go.

Mr Daniels said Mr Johnson and Mr Mooney were both headstrong characters and argued about issues concerning the farm.

Forensic pharmacologist Dr Olaf Drummer has said that 30mg of strychnine was enough to kill an adult.

Toxicology tests showed Mr Mooney had 1.8 mg per litre of the poison in his blood, 12mg per kg in his liver and 362mg in the contents of his stomach.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Chris Winneke, told the inquest yesterday if Mr Mooney did not commit suicide he was probably murdered shortly after swallowing the lethal poison.

Mr Mooney was a fit 46-year-old, a man who was a well-liked and generous father and whose relatives said had no reason to harm himself.

"The death is unlikely to have been caused by accidental poisoning," Mr Winneke told the inquest in Warrnambool.

"(It) must have come about by the deliberate conduct of some person, either Anthony Mooney himself or someone else."

Mr Winneke said at the time of his death his wife Elizabeth and their two young daughters were on a Pacific cruise and he was looking forward to their return.   

Farmer David Gordon, from Condah, told the inquest yesterday he regarded Mr Mooney as a brother and when he rang him at around 5pm on September 7 he was in good spirits.

Under cross-examination from Mr Winneke, Mr Gordon admitted he heard rumours that Mr Mooney was being slowly poisoned by strychnine in his tomato sauce.