A coroner’s jury ruled the death of Eastern professor Martin Scott a suicide Monday night at an inquest at the Mattoon City Hall.

Coles County Coroner Mike Nichols reported that the toxicity level of dihenhydramine, a drug found in over-the-counter medicines like Unisom and Benedryl, found in Scott’s system at the time of his autopsy was nearly eight times the lethal level.

James Blagg, a detective for the Charleston Police Department, investigated Scott’s residence and acted as a witness for the inquest.

Blagg testified that there were seven or eight friends present at Scott’s residence near the Square when police arrived the night of March 31.

Scott, 46, was found lying face down in the hallway near the bathroom of his apartment. An empty bottle and box of Unisom sleeping pills were also found, Blagg said.

Blagg testified that he was told by a friend that Scott purchased sleeping pills two months previous to his death. Because both the empty box and bottle were found, Blagg said he suspected the 32 50-milligram tablets were taken in a small time frame. Had the pills been taken over a period of the two months, the box probably would not have been present, Blagg said.

Friends also told Blagg that Scott had been depressed recently and had a difficult time dealing with personal issues, Blagg said. It is not certain if the pill bottle and box found contained the same pills Scott reportedly bought in previous months.

Scott was last seen leaving Friends and Company, a bar at which he was a frequent patron and musician, at approximately 1 a.m. March 31, Blagg said. Scott’s ethanol (alcohol) level was .068 at the time of the autopsy, approximately 12 hours after his body was found. The owner and operator of Friends and Company refused to comment.

Nichols also said the autopsy revealed Scott suffered from cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart.

“(The condition) could have been (a factor in death) later on, but was not threatening at the time,” Nichols said.

Scott was not aware of this condition, Nichols said.

Scott was found at approximately 7:45 p.m. March 31 by friends who were concerned after he failed to show up to teach a 7 p.m. class. Scott was pronounced dead at 7:48 p.m.