• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Strange Deaths

JamesWhitehead said:
Death of a Mystery Man on Saddleworth Moor.

A real head-scratcher! The page tracks his mysterious journey from Ealing to his solitary death. He just seems to have lain down and died on a peak known as The Indian's Head. :confused:
Click to expand...

Latest police speculation on this story:

A man who died on a remote hillside may have been making a pilgrimage to the scene of plane crash that killed 24 people in 1949, police have said – possibly because he was related to a victim of the disaster.
“The unidentified man is of an age that ties in with the crash and could be related to someone on it. He could have been making a pilgrimage to the plane crash site to remember a relative or friend. At this stage, with no clue on the dead man’s body to his identity, nothing can be ruled out.”

Three babies were among the victims of the crash, which happened after the plane from Belfast struck a mist-covered hill in Saddleworth, 15 miles (24km) away from Manchester Ringway airport, its intended destination.
 
Saddleworth? That place has other gruesome connotations.
 
Salesman, 43, roasted to death on his poolside sunbed on first day of all-inclusive holiday in Ibiza
By Steph Cockroft for MailOnline
Published: 10:59, 3 February 2016 | Updated: 04:42, 4 February 2016

A 43-year-old salesman roasted to death on his poolside sunbed on the first day of an all-inclusive holiday in Ibiza, an inquest has heard.

Neil Murphy, from Sheldon, Birmingham, had paid nearly £1,000 to go on the solo week-long holiday to the Mare Nostrum Hotel in Playa d'en Bossa in August.
But the day after arriving on the island, Mr Murphy was discovered lying motionless on his sunbed at the hotel.
Fellow tourists raised the alarm but hotel staff could not revive him.
On that day, forecasters had put the island on yellow alert as temperatures were predicted to reach highs of 90F (32C).

Before leaving for his holiday, Mr Murphy, who previously worked in Ibiza, had told friends how much he was looking forward to visiting Space nightclub.
He posted on his Facebook wall: 'Sun and Space!!! A nice week away in Ibiza. Roll on August 12th.'

He then added: 'It's going to be fun... first time away for a few years and can't wait for it.
'Been before on my own and it's always good. I've always said that the only club I could ever be arsed going to would be Space and it's only up the road from the hotel. So it'll be rude not to go to it.'

An inquest at Birmingham Coroner's Court confirmed Mr Murphy had died of heatstroke.
Coroner Louise Hunt said: 'It is clear from evidence available to me that Neil Murphy was found dead lying on a sunbed at the hotel Mare Nostrum on August 13.
'I am going to record that he died from heatstroke.'

Friends and family have used social media to pay tribute to Mr Murphy.
Niece Damien Kimberley said: 'still miss an think oy you every day uncle Neil xx'.
Kylie Emma Lay added: 'RIP uncle Neil knew you'd make the headlines eventually we miss you more and more as time goes by'.

etc...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lside-sunbed-day-inclusive-holiday-Ibiza.html
 
'Roasted'? In 32 degrees C?
Sad and inexplicable.
 
Man allegedly dies after being struck by meteorite :


VELLORE: It's been confirmed that it was an object falling from the sky, and not a blast of explosive substances, that killed a bus driver of an engineering college near Natrampalli in Vellore on Saturday.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has announced Rs. 1 lakh as solatium to the family of the deceased driver, Kamaraj.

The impact that killed a 40-year-old bus driver shattered the windshields of five buses parked on the campus and gouged out a small crater on the ground. Students scurried out of their classes when they heard the deafening impact.

Initial eyewitness accounts said they saw a mysterious object falling from the sky. It hit the ground and caused an explosion.

Meteorites are remnants of asteroids that broke apart when our solar system's planets were formed. As they hurtle through space, some enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Most of them burn up as they fall but a very rare few reach impact. Meteorites look similar to earthly rocks except they have a burned exterior.

Police, however, dismissed these initial eyewitness accounts as rumours. They put out the guesswork that the explosion was caused by gelatine sticks buried and abandoned amid the rocks at the time of construction of the college.

They said that the college's gardeners, Sasikumar(42) and Murali (26), were burnt garbage to clean up the garden and inadvertantly set off the unused gelatine sticks.

Sources said that Kamaraj and another driver Sultan (57) were drinking water from a water tank in the garden when they were hit by splinters from the meteorite.

Kamaraj fell with bleeding injuries and Sultan sustained minor injuries. Kamaraj was rushed to the government hospital in Vaniyambadi but died on the way.

A third-year student, Santosh (20) who was in the vicinity of the explosion complained of loss of hearing. All three are undergoing treatment at the government hospital at Tirupattur.

A bomb squad along with sniffer dogs cordoned off the spot and searched for clues to determine the cause of the explosion.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...ect-from-Space/2016/02/07/article3265108.ece#
 
Tribble said:
Man allegedly dies after being struck by meteorite :


VELLORE: It's been confirmed that it was an object falling from the sky, and not a blast of explosive substances, that killed a bus driver of an engineering college near Natrampalli in Vellore on Saturday.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has announced Rs. 1 lakh as solatium to the family of the deceased driver, Kamaraj.

The impact that killed a 40-year-old bus driver shattered the windshields of five buses parked on the campus and gouged out a small crater on the ground. Students scurried out of their classes when they heard the deafening impact.

Initial eyewitness accounts said they saw a mysterious object falling from the sky. It hit the ground and caused an explosion.

Meteorites are remnants of asteroids that broke apart when our solar system's planets were formed. As they hurtle through space, some enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Most of them burn up as they fall but a very rare few reach impact. Meteorites look similar to earthly rocks except they have a burned exterior.

Police, however, dismissed these initial eyewitness accounts as rumours. They put out the guesswork that the explosion was caused by gelatine sticks buried and abandoned amid the rocks at the time of construction of the college.

They said that the college's gardeners, Sasikumar(42) and Murali (26), were burnt garbage to clean up the garden and inadvertantly set off the unused gelatine sticks.

Sources said that Kamaraj and another driver Sultan (57) were drinking water from a water tank in the garden when they were hit by splinters from the meteorite.

Kamaraj fell with bleeding injuries and Sultan sustained minor injuries. Kamaraj was rushed to the government hospital in Vaniyambadi but died on the way.

A third-year student, Santosh (20) who was in the vicinity of the explosion complained of loss of hearing. All three are undergoing treatment at the government hospital at Tirupattur.

A bomb squad along with sniffer dogs cordoned off the spot and searched for clues to determine the cause of the explosion.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...ect-from-Space/2016/02/07/article3265108.ece#
Click to expand...

It would have been a first — but it probably wasn't.

A report earlier this week suggested that a falling meteorite killed a bus driver and injured three others in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. However, scientific experts have since looked into the matter and cast serious doubt on the initial report from Indian government authorities.

"Considering that there was no prediction of a meteorite shower and there was no meteorite shower observed, this certainly is a rare phenomena if it is a meteorite," G.C. Anupama, the dean of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, told the New York Times.

NASA scientists, meanwhile, were more definitive in disclaiming the meteorite report. They said in a statement that photographs of the 5-foot-deep, 2-foot-wide impact crater indicated a "land-based explosion" may have caused the damage.

- See more at: http://www.space.com/31893-meteorit...xperts.html?cmpid=514648#sthash.hLtlB5Vb.dpuf
 
Our Strange History of Accusing Inanimate Objects of Murder
by Eric Grundhauser / 11 Feb 2016

On February 5th, in lower Manhattan, a tragic accident stopped morning commuters in their tracks. An errant gust of wind blew a 565-foot tall crane sideways, striking and killing 38-year-old David Wichs, who was sitting in parked car at the time.
While no one has yet been held responsible for the incident, in an earlier time, the crane itself might have been on trial.
Click to expand...

http://www.atlasobscura.com/article...utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page
 
Shouldn't be too difficult to track down some medical records if that's the case. Still darned odd, though.
 
A woman's body was found inside a lift in China a month after it was improperly switched off, a regional government statement said.

Her body was found in a residential building in the central city of Xi'an.

The elevator had been turned off by two maintenance workers on 30 January. The body was found when other workers arrived on 1 March.

Police are treating the death as involuntary manslaughter. Several people have been arrested.

One local report said scratches were found inside the lift, one of two inside the building.

It is believed the woman was 43 years old and lived by herself in the building, the statement by Gaoling's government said. Her family did not visit her often, it said.

The workers had been called to fix a fault with the elevator and had shouted to see if anyone was inside.

Their failure to check properly amounted to "gross negligence", government officials said.

The work on the broken lift was delayed partly because of the new year holidays.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35739046
 
John 'Goldfinger' Palmer 'killed by professional gunman'

The shooting of a notorious criminal "bears all the hallmarks of a professional hit", police have said.
John "Goldfinger" Palmer, 65, who allegedly amassed a fortune in a time-share scam, was shot six times in the chest at his South Weald home in June.
Essex Police said they believed his killer climbed over a fence and shot him in an area not covered by CCTV.

There was "speculation" Palmer was linked to other organised crime such as the Hatton Garden raid, they added.
Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings said: "Due to John's significant criminal history there are people or groups of people who may have wished to do him harm.
"Therefore our search is not just for the gunman but for a person or group of people who may have commissioned the killing.

"There are two very significant main lines of inquiry at the moment, the first being that John was due to stand trial in mainland Spain relating to real estate fraud that followed an eight-year investigation."
Police believe there may have been concerns about what he would say in evidence during that trial.

Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings added: "The second is a combination of factors throughout 2015 which included a number of significant crimes in the UK, significant law enforcement intervention into organised crime in the UK and significant arrests of people in organised crime groups."

Speaking ahead of a BBC Crimewatch appeal, police said the crime scene had been "professionally" stripped of evidence.
No shots were heard in the house and his body lay undiscovered until it was found by his son's girlfriend an hour later.

Palmer had recently had surgery and it was initially thought he had suffered a cardiac arrest.
A week later, a post-mortem examination found the convicted conman had been shot in the chest six times, which prompted an investigation by the police watchdog.

Detectives found a hole in the fence surrounding Mr Palmer's sprawling grounds which they believe the gunman used to watch his movements.
"We believe the killer entered the garden over the fence, close to where he was, and made his way to where Mr Palmer was burning the rubbish before shooting him," said Essex Police.
"We do not know at this time whether a silencer was used or not but no modifications had been made to the bullets.
"The murder bears all the hallmarks of a professional hit."
It is thought that this surgery was common knowledge among friends and family and could have been deliberately used to disguise the injuries.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-35766680
 
Eh? They didn't notice 6 bullet holes for a week? No blood?

Can't say I'm going to shed too many tears for him, having reportedly conned at least 16,000 people in a timeshare scam.
 
John 'Goldfinger' Palmer murder: Essex Police officers disciplined

Two police officers who were first on the scene when a notorious criminal was killed have been disciplined for failing to spot he had been shot.
John "Goldfinger" Palmer, a 65-year-old conman, was found at his home in South Weald, Essex, in June.
Officers and paramedics initially thought Palmer, who had recently undergone keyhole surgery to his chest, had died from natural causes.
Essex Police said their actions did not amount to gross misconduct.

...

Essex Police said the two officers who arrived at Palmer's home had been told about his recent surgery and that it could account for his injuries.
A force spokesman said: "However they did not carry out a full examination of the body, which would likely have raised suspicions.
"They also did not call an inspector to the scene to confirm their assessment or check Mr Palmer's antecedents on the police national computer.

"Given the full circumstances... it was judged this did not amount to gross misconduct and they have been given management action for failing to fully comply with Essex Police policy on dealing with sudden deaths."

It was not until a week later that a post-mortem examination established suspicious circumstances and a murder investigation was launched.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-35775349
 
It's just unbelievable that they didn't spot the cause of death straight away.
Gunshot wounds are pretty bloody obvious.
 
Mythopoeika said:
It's just unbelievable that they didn't spot the cause of death straight away.
Gunshot wounds are pretty bloody obvious.
Click to expand...
If his heart was hit even with small calibre, the blood egress would have been significant and probably gone a couple of feet as well. Does seem a bit odd.
 
But was the poison self-administered or did someone give it to him?
 
No lead masks found nearby?
 
An amended Guardian article on the death by strychnine of Saddleworth Moor man:
Strychnine: the notorious but rare poison at the heart of a modern mystery
https://www.theguardian.com/science...he-heart-of-a-modern-mystery-saddleworth-moor

"This article was amended on 17 March 2016. An earlier version contained a line in the final paragraph implying that the death in the Saddleworth moor case was suicide. The police investigation is ongoing and no conclusions have yet been reached."

[With technical details of how strychnine causes death]
 
'Drop into docks' may make you think SPLASH! But it was more likely THUD or CRUNCH, because it would have been a hard landing in this position.
UPDATE: Man dies after 100 foot drop into Falmouth Docks
4940264.jpg

The man went over the edge of the cliff overlooking Falmouth Docks (Stock photo: Google maps)

5 hrs ago / Emma Ferguson

Police have confirmed a man has died after going over a 100 foot drop in Falmouth this afternoon.
Emergency services were called to Pendennis Rise at 1.30pm after the man went over the edge of the railings from the road overlooking Falmouth Docks.

A police spokesperson said paramedics were currently giving emergency care and the air ambulance had just arrived, to transfer the man to hospital.
Officers are trying to identify the man and get in touch with his next of kin.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear at this stage.
The website will be updated with more details when we have it.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/new...dies_after_100_foot_drop_into_Falmouth_Docks/

The railings mentioned are over head height, so someone would have to be pretty determined to climb over them.
But the motive is the mystery. Was this a dare-devil stunt gone wrong? Or suicide? I'll pass on more news when I have it.

The area over the docks is a popular viewpoint, with views below of the docks and the ships themselves, and northwest up the harbour to the Penryn River. To the north and northeast is the Carrick Roads and the Roseland Peninsula. It was a fine day today, so there may well have been several people there who witnessed what happened.
 
There has been little follow up in the local press about the story above: this headline sums up the new info:

Police confirm 44-year-old Truro man died after falling from cliffs into Falmouth Docks
By WBHuw | Posted: April 12, 2016

westbriton.co.uk/Police-confirm-44-year-old-Truro-man-fell-cliffs/story-29097685-detail/story.html
Link is dead. See following post for more on this story.

While the Falmouth Packet has nothing since the original brief story.

This lack of info has me reaching for my Conspiracy Theorist hat!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top