Ex-Guardian columnist drowned in marina, inquest finds

A journalist and author who wrote much-admired columns from prison drowned in a Devon marina after spending an evening in a harbour-side pub, an inquest has concluded.

- Steven Morris

Erwin James, fell into the sea at Brixham, Devon in January 2024

Erwin James Monahan, who used the pen name Erwin James and wrote a regular column for the Guardian - the first of its kind in British journalism - fell into the sea at Brixham in Devon, close to where the boat in which he was staying was moored, the inquest in Exeter heard.

The area coroner Alison Longhorn concluded James’s death at the age of 66 was accidental and contributed to by alcohol intoxication.

Longhorn said relatives considered that James, who was jailed for life for two murders and served 20 years in prison, had a “lifelong problem” with alcohol.

She said: “Those who knew him from the marina told police it was not unusual for him to have consumed two bottles of whisky a day. He had been subject to a drink-driving ban following a fourth drink-driving conviction over a three-year period.”