'Possible e-bike crash' before body found on field

A father found dead by a girl on a school playing field might have died after crashing his e-bike on an uneven canal towpath in bad weather, an inquest heard.

A narrative conclusion was recorded by the coroner, following the discovery of Neil Thompson's body by an 11-year-old who was getting ready to do PE at a school in Wolverhampton on 19 January.

Police originally launched a murder investigation but the hearing was told mystery still surrounded exactly how the 45-year-old came to suffer his fatal injuries.

There was no clear understanding of how the man, from Wolverhampton, got from the towpath to the field where his body was found, the inquest heard.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of injuries that some may find distressing

He would have had to negotiate or scale a fence to enter the school grounds.

Police found no evidence of blood along the towpath.

But the West Midlands force's Det Insp Joe Davenport, who led the murder investigation, said his own theory was that Thompson might have been thrown from his bike while travelling at speed along the uneven towpath in poor weather conditions.

He died after breathing in blood, following injuries to his face and head, the inquest heard.

A post-mortem examination found he had suffered major injuries to the left side of his face, a fracture around his left eye socket and there was evidence of a traumatic brain injury.

Thompson, from Castlecroft, had also suffered an injury to the front of his neck.

Consultant pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer said the man could have suffered the injuries in a heavy fall, but could have also been assaulted.

He had left his home on an electric bike at about 20:15 GMT the previous evening to visit a friend and left at about 01:00 GMT the next morning.

CCTV footage showed him travelling along a canal towpath at about 01:25 GMT before a member of the public, walking his dog through Smestow Valley Nature Reserve, photographed him in the school grounds at about 07:15 GMT.

He was believed to still be alive but what happened during the intervening hours remained unclear, the inquest heard.

Investigators found no evidence Thompson had been robbed.

But Davenport admitted the whole nature reserve could not be completely sealed off and therefore the possibility of another person being involved could not be ruled out.

Black Country area coroner Joanne Lees said Thompson died from breathing in blood after being hurt, with the circumstances in which those injuries were suffered still unknown.

In a statement at the time of his death, his family said their "beautiful son", brother, father and friend Chuck's "love for life and funny stories touched the lives of so many people".

The father of the girl who made the discovery had previously said she found a body by goalposts and added: "It's left her really shaken up. It's terrible what she's had to see."

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