Scot Young's phone call to Noelle Reno moments before he fell to his death

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Businessman fell to his death from property in central London last year
Mr Young and ex-girlfriend Ms Reno starred on TV show Ladies of London
His GP says he was treated for drug and alcohol abuse before his death
His daughters don't believe he killed himself. Police say nothing suspicious
Coroner rules out foul play but says she cannot be sure death was suicide

Published: 05:50 EST, 16 July 2015 | Updated: 19:02 EST, 16 July 2015

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Property tycoon Scot Young phoned his ex-girlfriend moments before his death and told her: 'I'm going to jump out of the window, stay on the phone, you will hear me', an inquest heard today.

The 52-year-old, who was previously involved in a multimillion-pound divorce battle, died after falling from a flat in Montagu Square, central London, on December 8.

An inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court today heard he was in the throes of a paranoid breakdown when he died and heard voices telling him the world was going to end.

Shortly before he was found dead, he had a row with ex-girlfriend Noelle Reno and then phoned her with the chilling message.

Assistant Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe ruled out any kind of foul play but said she could not record a verdict of suicide due to 'insufficient evidence'.

Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Shirley Radcliffe said: 'I have concluded that there is inconclusive evidence to determine his state of mind and intention when he came out of the window.'

Noelle Reno, the girlfriend of Scot Young, arriving at his inquest today. She said Mr Young phoned her before his death and told her: 'I'm going to jump out of the window. Stay on the phone, you will hear me'

Scot Young (pictured with ex-girlfriend Ms Reno) was under stress at the time of his death following his high-profile divorce from ex-wife Michelle (right), his inquest has heard

Mr Young became widely-known after he was jailed for six months for contempt of court in 2013 following a divorce row with former partner Michelle, who accused him of hiding away more than £400million.

He later started a relationship with American model Ms Reno, one of the stars of the Ladies Of London reality TV show, which airs on US channel Bravo.

Speaking at the inquest today, Ms Reno - who dated Mr Young on and off for five-and-a-half years -said the pair were still living together but were no longer in a relationship when he turned up at their flat on December 8.

Ms Reno said: 'I had tried to get him out of the flat for a long time. If he didn't go to a recovery programme, I couldn't have him in my life.'

She told how Mr Young pleaded with her to allow him to stay but she refused.

She said: 'He was desperate, more than I have ever seen him. Desperate in a different kind of way. He was completely sober. It was the first time I had actually seen him cry.'

The court heard Mr Young rang Ms Reno after she left the property and said: 'I'm going to jump out of the window. Stay on the phone, you will hear me.'

Shortly before, he had sent her a text message which read: 'Now I have hit rock bottom as you can see! Loved you like no other! Love you always and forever!'

He died after falling from a building in Montagu Square in Central London in December last year

The former model explained that when Mr Young told her over the phone that he was going to jump out of the window, she did not take it seriously.

At first she thought he was trying to 'manipulate' her to come back but she decided to call 999 anyway, she said.

She said: 'He sounded as if it could have been one of the thousands of threats I have heard, but there clearly was something in me that I called 999. There was obviously something in his voice that this time there could be some threat.

'In the months before December he had been talking about it, "it would just be easier to end it all, I can't get myself out of this mess".'

Explaining how she found out about Mr Young's death, she said: 'A police car showed up and asked me to step inside and the officers told me he had killed himself.'

Jaqueline Julyan, representing Mr Young's daughters Scarlet, 21, and Sasha, 19, told the court that they do not believe their father killed himself.

Assistant Coroner Dr Radcliffe asked her: 'Are you suggesting there is a suspicious element? That there was another person?'

'That is the submission, yes,' the lawyer replied. 'There is another scenario that this was not self-inflicted.'

US-born model turned TV presenter Ms Reno had called off their engagement before his death

Ms Reno (far right) had featured in hit US TV show Ladies of London, on which Mr Young featured

Ms Julyan said abrasions to Mr Young's arms 'could be the result of somebody having manhandled him out of the window.'

'Anything is possible,' the coroner replied.

Ms Julyan said marks on the window ledge were 'particularly concerning', adding: 'There could have been some sort of struggle.'

'I'm also very concerned at the notion that their father may have been able to fit himself through the narrow space of the window and still plummet to his death given he is a man of six foot, a large man,' said Ms Julyan.

Detective Sergeant Christopher Page told the court there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Michelle Young and Mr Young pictured on their wedding day in March 1995

Giving her verdict, Assistant Coroner Dr Radcliffe later said: 'I think the police are entirely correct in that there is no suspicious circumstances.'

Ms Reno earlier told the inquest that Mr Young had been distanced from his friends after relying on them for money when his assets were frozen and he was investigated during his protracted divorce battle.

She said: 'He lived hand-to-mouth with people giving him money and whenever anyone did give him money they were investigated. People stopped associating with him.'

In a statement read to the court by coroner Shirley Radcliffe, Mr Young's GP Dr Soraya Meer said he had been treated for bipolar affective disorder and for cocaine, cannabis and alcohol abuse since 2011.

'He reported being under huge stress due to his bankruptcy and high profile divorce,' she said.

Psychiatrist Dr Rachel Berg told the inquest that, days before he was found dead, Mr Young complained of having trouble sleeping and paranoid thoughts.

Dr Berg told the coroner's court: 'He felt there was a conspiracy to kill him and felt that his girlfriend might be a part of the conspiracy because she was turning the lights on and off.'

After hearing a male voice telling him it was 'the end of the world' he requested admission to hospital on December 4 2014, where he reported having thoughts of harming himself again.

'He said his children acted as a protective force, that his daughters were preventing him from doing that, that they were something worth living for and actually prevented him from doing that,' Dr Berg told the inquest.

Mr Young admitted to 'heavy' cocaine use at this time, which he described as unusual for him, and that he had been drinking 'six large vodkas' a day, the inquest heard.

He was discharged on December 8 last year after convincing doctors he was recovering. He died later the same day.

A medical examination, carried out by pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary, suggested Mr Young had not been attacked before he fell to his death.

It showed there were no signs of 'defensive or offensive' injuries that may have been the result of a struggle, Dr Cary said.

The inquest (attended by friend Heather Kerzner, right) was told Mr Young (left) was having 'paranoid thoughts' in the weeks before his death and feared someone was trying to kill him

Dr Cary said it was his job to see if Mr Young had suffered any fatal injuries before he had fallen from the window.

The pathologist said: 'I felt both on external and internal examination, allowing for some minor injuries and cuts, there was no independent evidence of injuries taking place prior to death.'

The inquest also heard there was no sign of any forced entry to his top-floor flat and police had to break down the door on arrival.

They found one of the sash windows open with a can of coke, pack of cigarettes and lighter on the sill.

Dr Susan Paterson, who conducted a toxicology report, said cocaine was not found in Mr Young's blood following his death.

However levels of cocaine detected in his hair, which indicated drug use over the last six months, were 'very, very high,' she said.

The inquest continues.