A Whitehorse man who died behind the Salvation Army was killed by cold and drink, not another person, according to a coroner's report.

Jason Selamio's lifeless body was found by police in the alley behind the church-run shelter on Fourth Avenue on the evening of Friday, Oct. 9, 2009.

Officers had responded to a call of an unconscious man who was believed to have been in a fight earlier in the evening.

Attempts were made to revive the man on the scene and then at Whitehorse General Hospital, police reported at the time, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Shortly after Selamio died, Ryan Darbyshire, also of Whitehorse, was charged with killing the 37-year-old N.W.T. native. Witnesses said the two men had fought, and Selamio had hit his head.

Darbyshire was arrested and charged with manslaughter in the days following Selamio's death.

But a pathologist's report, received by the Yukon coroner's office in February, shows Selamio died of hypothermia due to acute alcohol intoxication, chief coroner Sharon Hanley told the Star today.

"He definitely had some injuries, but they weren't anything that caused his death, according to the pathologist,” Hanley said.

Selamio had bruises on his face and scalp, as well as cuts on his lips and tongue, she added, "but it was only minor trauma.”

Hanley indicated that the charges against Darbyshire flowed largely from the statements given to police by eyewitnesses, not all of which were entirely reliable.

"Some of the witnesses had been drinking so the timelines weren't all that great,” she said. "But there had been an altercation, so there was an investigation.”

She noted that Selamio was "on the ground for a while” before police were called.

"Like any investigation, until you receive the detailed coroner's report, you have to go with the information you have at the time,” RCMP spokesman Sgt. Don Rogers said today of the charges.

"The autopsy answered any questions there were in terms of the causation of death.”

Selamio's family has been contacted and told why the charges have been stayed, Rogers added.

The charges against Darbyshire were officially dropped Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Whitehorse man was released from jail yesterday.