Ian Paton died from carbon monoxide poisoning hastened by heart disease after small blaze at cluttered property A senior criminal barrister who was "notoriously untidy" died after piles of paper in his cluttered London flat caught fire, an inquest has heard. Ian Paton, 66, who also sat as a crown court recorder, was found by firefighters unconscious in his bedroom on 20 December. There was evidence of a small blaze around a halogen stove.