BRITISH DAD FOUND DEAD IN POLICE STATION IN CARIBBEAN AFTER BEING KICKED OUT OF HOTEL

A British dad-of-one was found hanged in a police station corridor after being kicked out of his Caribbean hotel when he smashed up his room, an inquest heard.

Craig Reed, 40, of Oldham, struggled with mental health problems and alcoholism before his death in the Dominican Republic on November 9, 2022. He had taken a holiday to the Caribbean island after inheriting some money, but according to the inquest began “drinking excessively” soon after he arrived resulting in a refusal from staff at the the five star Bahia Principe Grand in La Romana to serve him any more alcohol.

The inquest at Rochdale coroners’ court heard that Mr Reed continued drinking outside the hotel and caused “significant damage” to his hotel room on November 8, before being ejected from the hotel and banned from his return flight with TUI. The hotel also demanded $1,100 to pay for the damage, but they let him pay after he told them he couldn’t afford the sum.

He was booked into new accommodation in La Romana city, but was discovered “intoxicated” on a street near a school on November 9. Local police said he was “causing an affray” in a report at the time.

Mr Reed became “aggressive” after a paramedic arrived to assist him, leading to the police being summoned, Manchester Evening News reported. Around this time Kelly Royales, a support worker from his GP practice in Failsworth who was supporting Mr Reed with his mental health issues, received a photo of him in what appeared to be an ambulance alongside Whatsapp messages and voicemails in Spanish from an unknown person.

At around 5.45pm Mr Reed was taken to the tourist police station in Bayahibe and given a mattress in the corridor. At 9pm he was found hanged. Det Insp Victoria Duncan said despite numerous attempts to contact the authorities in the Dominican Republic they had not co-operated with Greater Manchester Police's investigation into Mr Reed's death.

She added: "One of the main concerns was whether he had been assaulted. There was no evidence to suggest Craig had been assaulted in any way."

A post-mortem carried out in the Dominican Republic gave the cause of death as hanging. A second post mortem then took place in the UK. Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson gave the same cause of death, but said his investigation was compromised by the initial post-mortem and by Mr Reed's body being embalmed for repatriation.

A toxicology report gave an alcohol reading of 831mg in 100ml of blood, around eight times the drink drive limit in England. Dr Wilson said it was the highest level he had ever seen, but added that in UK toxicology tests it is standard procedure to rely on the more accurate blood test.

The inquest heard Mr Reed, a plastic fabricator by trade, 'doted' on his son. Former partner Georgie Jones, described him as an 'introvert' who appeared to be 'bubbly and outgoing'. She said: "He was a good person but he would have periods where the drink would take over."

The inquest heard Mr Reed had suffered trauma in childhood and had been diagnosed with depression, post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol dependency and emotionally unstable personality disorder. He had made 'multiple suicide attempts' over the years. In the months before his death he had also taken a holiday in Tenerife, where he had been arrested, ejected from the hotel and slept rough after an incident involving alcohol.

Mr Reed's dad Steven Reed told the inquest he had a number of unanswered questions about his son's death. He said: "If he had that much alcohol in his system, how was able to spring up and do that [take his own life]? Why was he in a corridor? Why wasn't he supervised? There are lots of things that just don't sit right.

"It just doesn't make sense. No matter what conclusions anyone comes to I have my own. Craig wouldn't do that, he certainly wouldn't do it to [his son]."

Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley recorded an open conclusion. Addressing Mr Reed’s family she said: "I know how frustrating it must be to you as a family that we cannot answer the questions you want answering. We are piecing it together with very limited evidence. The findings of the Dominican Republic autopsy support the view that the cause of death was the result of hanging. There was an absence of any other explanation for the cause of death.

"Externally on his body there was nothing to suggest there had been a serious assault. There were no broken bones. I do not know what happened in those vital hours when he was in custody leading up to his death. Because of that complete absence of information I am going to record an open conclusion.

"There is evidence to suggest he may have harmed himself but I do not think it reaches the threshold to say that is more likely than not. The reality is we still do have questions around Craig's death."

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2024-07-02T09:40:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd