A Royal Military College cadet found dead in a Kingston, Ont., river in 2003 once tried to overdose on prescription drugs and alcohol, the coroner's inquest into his death was told Wednesday.

Joe Grozelle's death was initially ruled a suicide by investigators who found no evidence of foul play, but his family insisted the 21-year-old would never take his own life.

'This incident may be relevant to the issue of whether there was an accidental situation.'— Coroner's legal counsel Michael Blaine

Grozelle's girlfriend, Melissa Haggart, took the witness stand Wednesday, and her testimony suggested there were things about Grozelle his family did not know.

Haggart, the last person confirmed to have seen Grozelle alive on the night he died, said Grozelle told her he had tried to overdose on pills and alcohol while he was in high school, after a girlfriend cheated on him.

Haggart said Grozelle was saved by a friend who dropped by unexpectedly while he was vomiting, cleaned him up and put him to bed.

She added that after the incident, he felt "someone was looking out for him" and said he would not do such a thing again.

Grozelle's mother, Minnie, said she never knew about the incident. "That was a surprise to me," she said outside the inquest.

Grozelle's father, Ron, said he does not think there was any connection between the incident during high school and the situation surrounding his son's death.

"There was absolutely nothing in his recent history that would indicate any kind of mental issues, stress problems — there's nothing there."

The coroner's legal counsel, Michael Blaine, said outside the inquest the incidents might not be related.

Grozelle said he would not attempt suicide again, his girlfriend testified.
(Canadian Press)

But he added, "This incident may be relevant to the issue of whether there was an accidental situation — there [are] sometimes accidental overdoses."

Haggart said she last saw Grozelle alive at 1 a.m. ET on Oct. 22, 2003, when she fell asleep on the bed in his dormitory room while he worked at his computer. He was not there when she awoke at 5:30 a.m. and did not appear for the rest of the day. She reported him missing that afternoon.

Grozelle's body was found three weeks later floating in the nearby Cataraqui River.

Several people who claim they saw Grozelle after his disappearance are expected to testify at the inquest next week.

The second coroner's inquest into Grozelle's death opened March 19. The first ended unexpectedly last October with the coroner's announcement that it would have to start over with a new jury due to issues of fairness.

With files from the Canadian Press