Last year, Ars reported on the death of David Charles Hahn , who was profiled by Harper’s Magazine in 1998 for having attempted to build a homemade breeder nuclear reactor in his mother’s backyard shed.

Hahn’s death was still being investigated by the medical examiner in Macomb County, Michigan, and it was not known whether his exposure to radiation as a teenager contributed to his death. That investigation concluded on December 2, 2016.

On Tuesday, David’s father, Kenneth Hahn, called Ars to confirm that his son died of alcohol poisoning and that his previous nuclear experiments played no role in his passing. He said that he came upon our months-old request for comment while cleaning out old e-mails.

Citing a toxicology and autopsy report, Kenneth Hahn said his son was found with a dangerous level of blood alcohol content, 0.404, late in the evening on September 26, 2016. The "radiation injury," he explained, refers to a small burn on David's wrist dating back to his experiments.

"Dave was shopping at Walmart to get some food. It was around 10:30pm at night, and I guess he went to get some groceries," Kenneth Hahn said. "They found him in the restroom about 20 minutes later, deceased. There was no way to revive him."

Kenneth Hahn added that he didn’t learn of his son’s death until the Shelby Charter Township police arrived at about 2am the following morning to inform him of the news.

Prior to his death, Hahn accompanied his son to the Veterans Administration hospital for quarterly routine checkups. Medical staff there found no lingering ill effects from the earlier radiation exposure.

Father and son lived about a half mile away from one another. At the time of his death, Kenneth Hahn said, David was "in school taking three classes and was going to get his ASE certification to work as a major mechanic."

Kenneth Hahn said previously that his son had served as a sniper and master helmsman aboard the USS Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

"I’m proud of my son and I’m very sad that he’s gone," he said. "He could have done a lot more in this world."

David Charles Hahn was laid to rest at Great Lakes Military Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.