AN INQUEST into the death of a man who was found decomposing in a Newbury flat recorded an open verdict.
Police officer, PC Steven Daily, found 39-year-old Richard John Bone laying dead in a bed at his flat after Mr Bone’s neighbour, Louise Kingham, reported the smell of a decomposing body emanating from next door.
Assistant deputy Berkshire coroner, Anna Burnside, read a statement from the police officer in which he said he had to break down the door of number 44 Windsor Court last August to get in.
In his statement, PC Daily said that he discovered the man laying face down on the bed with a plastic bucket next to him, but the decomposition made it difficult to identify the man.
The coroner read a statement from PCSO Susan Gillespie, in which the PCSO said she had seen Mr Bone a month previous to his death after knowing him for several years.
She said “I noticed his behaviour was unusual and out of character and he was wearing different boots on each of his feet.”
In a statement from the family, the inquest heard that Mr Bone had suffered from epilepsy and would have regular fits – often forgetting to take medication controlling his condition.
The statement also detailed a history of alcohol misuse and described Mr Bone as a bit of a loner in his younger years – having behavioural problems and learning difficulties while at school.
A post mortem examination of the body did not provide a conclusive cause of death. The examining doctor said in his statement that Mr Bone’s death could have possibly been caused by an epileptic fit, but said that he could not be sure as it was near impossible to detect even in the recently deceased.
The coroner said that the evidence provided left her with no alternative but to record an open verdict.