Fletcher Wong’s death at Rhythm and Vines is a ‘tragic illustration’ of the risks of drugs

The coroner ruled that Dylan Wong’s death was self-inflicted, but not suicide.
Photo: Supplied / NZ Police

• Fletcher Dylan Wong exhibited anxious and paranoid behavior after allegedly taking MDMA at Rhythm and Vines
• He was found dead two days later and the coroner has now ruled it was not suicide but self-inflicted.
• Coroner Andrew Schirnack said the death highlighted the dangers of drug use and noted Wong may have been taking a different drug than he thought

A 19-year-old university student may have become psychotic due to drug use when he disappeared from a music festival and killed himself in 2020.

In a decision released today, a coroner found that Fletcher Dylan Wong’s death was self-inflicted.

However, the evidence given to the inquest did not support a finding of suicide and the death was “a tragic illustration of the dangers of drug use”, said coroner Andrew Schirnack.

He also said the Wellington man had taken a different drug than he thought he had taken.

Wong was attending the Rhythm and Vines festival in Gisborne when he displayed anxious and paranoid behavior in the early hours of December 29, 2020.

Despite his friends discouraging him, the Otago University student left the festival. A search by police and 70 Land Search and Rescue volunteers was launched and Wong’s body was found two days later about 3 km from the festival venue.

An autopsy found lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and the stimulant drug eutylone in his system.

Schirnack said Wong was a fit, healthy young man who was committed to his fitness and had just completed the first year of a sports science degree. He was “introverted and quiet” but determined and well-liked, and had no history of anxiety or self-harm.

“His friends understand that he did not drink much alcohol, but that he occasionally used recreational drugs,” Schirnack said.

MDMA drug of choice

“There is consensus among his friends that his recreational drug of choice was methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), but Mr. Wong was known to consume LSD.” Shirnack said.

Wong’s group arrived at the festival on December 28 and it was known that he had taken LSD the night before and was sleep deprived.

On December 28, Wong took two tablets of what he thought were MDMA and by around 10 p.m. his behavior had become unusual.

“He appeared anxious and paranoid and believed (wrongly) that people were talking about him. He became afraid that the police would find drugs in his toiletry bag and asked to borrow a pair of sunglasses so that his eyes were not visible to others .”

Friends encouraged Wong to rest and gave him water, and in the early hours of December 29, someone tried to take him to the Hato Hone St John tent.

He continued to walk away from his friend, who tried to physically restrain him. Attempts to calm him down were unsuccessful.

The friend sought help from the security guards on site, but they did not intervene.

Wong walked away and his friend “reluctantly concluded” there was nothing he could do to stop him, the coroner said.

Wong was last seen walking toward an exit around 2 a.m. His body was found late in the afternoon of December 31.

Schirnack said he was convinced Wong’s death was the result of his own actions, but found he may not have been able to form an intention to commit suicide, which is the necessary standard of proof for a finding of suicide.

“In fact, it is entirely possible that he was in a state of psychosis at the time he took the actions that led to his death,” the coroner said.

He said it had been found that LSD could cause psychotic episodes, and drug testing agency KnowYourStuffNZ reported that high doses of eutylone could also cause psychosis and hallucinations.

“The circumstances of this death are a tragic illustration of the dangers of drug use,” said coroner Schirnack.

Organizers of the Rythm and Vines festival told the coroner they had a health and wellbeing area at the event, with staff and volunteers. St. John and guards were present and visible.

“Since Mr Wong’s death, Haurora Tairawhiti has contacted Rhythm and Vines to coordinate and contribute to wellbeing initiatives at the festival.”

Organizers had welcomed the offer.

Schirnack said the evidence showed Wong thought he was taking MDMA when he took eutylone, which posed a risk of dangerous side effects.

Rhythm and Vines explained that drug testing at such events had only just become legal at the time and there was insufficient testing equipment in the country to make it feasible at the 2020 festival.

Ric Stevens worked for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency for many years, including as a political reporter in Parliament, before taking on senior positions at several newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand herald.