Gaydar founder's misadventure death verdict (From Ealing Times)

Gaydar founder's misadventure death verdict

7:56am Friday 20th April 2007 in

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A gay internet millionaire shouted 'wahey' before falling to his death an inquest heard yesterday.

Gary Frisch, the co-founder of Gaydar, the world's biggest gay online dating site with offices based in Twickenham, died after plummeting from the eighth-floor balcony of his Battersea home on February 10.

Darren Morris, who had been staying in the luxury flat, told Westminster Coroner's Court how Mr Frisch had been acting strangely - waving his arms and shouting 'thank you Lord'.

Mr Frisch's mum died last August and the court heard it had affected him badly and by Christmas his friend and colleague Trevor Martin noticed he had become rather manic.

He said: "He was doing everything very fast, was full of energy, could not sleep and was a bit paranoid."

Mr Frisch, who was described as a generous and popular man, had been seeing doctors and a clinical psychologist and was on medication.

On February 9 he stayed in and ordered an Italian takeaway with Darren Morris, a man he had met a few weeks earlier and who was staying with him in his luxury appartment in Commodore House.

Mr Morris said his friend was a bit depressed that night and stayed up late taking ketamine, drinking whiskey and saying strange things about God.

The next morning, February 10, Mr Frisch said he wanted to go to Ikea.

Mr Morris described how he was acting strangely, waving his arms around and shouting.

Mr Frisch said to Mr Morris they might as well take some more ketamine before they went to Ikea.

They did so, just before Mr Frisch went on to the balcony, put his hands on the railing, somersaulted over the top and disappeared from view. As he fell he uttered a cry of exhilaration.

Mr Morris said: "I thought I was seeing things because I had just taken ketamine myself."

Witness Stephen Ruddock, who was on the ground at the time, said he heard Mr Frisch shout 'wahey' as if he was a celebrating a dive.

Coroner, Dr Paul Knapman, recorded a verdict of misadventure.

He said: "Mr Frisch had not yet reached 40, he was successful and popular but died as a result of drug use.

"This is not suicide at all, it is a man who was under the influence of drugs which had affected him in such a way that he probably did not know what was going on."

Mr Frisch's company QSoft - based in Queen's House, Holly Road - launched Gaydar in 1999. The site now has around 3million members.

It was created by Mr Frisch, originally from South Africa, and his partner Henry Badenhorst. The pair moved to the UK in 1997.