JP Morgan executive had high alcohol level before skyscraper plunge, London inquest hears

A JP Morgan technology expert who fell to his death from the U.S. bank's 33-storey tower in London's Canary Wharf financial district had a high level of alcohol in his system before he died, an inquest heard on Tuesday.

Gabriel Magee, 39, a vice president with JP Morgan's corporate and investment bank technology arm, plunged from the building in January, hitting a lower, 9th-floor roof where he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest heard written evidence from a senior toxicologist that Magee, from the United States, was found to have had an alcohol level nearly three times the legal driving limit.

Mark Gibbons, a friend and colleague, said that although he had seemed happy at the time of his death, there had been a previous incident in New York where Magee had sent an email along the lines that he "couldn't handle this" before disappearing for a short while.

However, when he re-appeared he seemed fine, the inquest heard.