Derbyshire man died of 'severe blood loss' in accident in his kitchen
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Simon Parker, from Matlock, was found dead after police forced entry into his Bank Road flat in March.
A documentary inquest at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court yesterday (Wednesday, July 22) heard that neighbours had noticed Mr Parker ‘shouting and banging’ the night before, but didn’t check on him.
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Hide AdMr Parker, who was born in London, suffered from mental health problems such as paranoid depression and was under the care of a mental health support team.
When the 55-year-old didn’t respond to a call from a team member on March 11, they became concerned and went to Mr Parker’s home where they looked through the keyhole and saw ‘blood coming from under the kitchen door’.
Police later forced entry into the flat and found Mr Parker lying on the floor with a severe leg injury that had been bleeding heavily.
There was also blood on the kitchen cupboards and worktops, but ‘no sharp objects’ were found at the scene.
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Hide AdA post-mortem report found that Mr Parker had suffered a fracture dislocation of his left ankle, an injury that could only be sustained in a ‘fall from a height’.
He had a history of self-harm and had been detained at the Hartington Unit in December 2019.
During his stay police informed hospital staff that Mr Parker’s home had been set on fire- but with no witnesses and insufficient evidence the case was dropped.
Assistant coroner for Derbyshire Emma Serrano said she did not believe Mr Parker had taken his own life, as he was seen by a mental health nurse a week before his death and expressed that he was ‘not feeling suicidal’.
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Hide AdMs Serrano also believed the noises heard the night Mr Parker died suggested he was calling for help.
"While I cannot say precisely what happened, I don’t think this was intended,” said Ms Serrano.
She recorded the death as an ‘accident’, with the medical causes of death given as severe blood loss and fracture dislocation of the left ankle due to a fall.