Nigerian Found Dead, Body Rotten In Britain

Nigerian found dead, body rotten in Britain
17.01.2007

THE British police are trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of a Nigerian whose decomposed body was found in his flat in Wembley, London .

The body of Mr. Okon, 38, of Conifer Way , Wembley, was discovered when policemen were called to the area to investigate "an offensive smell", coming from his home.

Mr. Okon was reported to have been dead for about two weeks when the discovery was made. Mr. Okon, who is an accountant, was discovered in his toilet kneeling down.

Policemen had to kick open the front door to get into the accountant's home, an inquest heard on Monday. A witness, Police Constable Pedro Alonso, of Brent Police, told the inquest: "When I kicked open the door, there were loads of flies and a terrible smell.

"The flat was very untidy, there was a mattress in the middle of the floor and several papers thrown all over the table. It was the heat that struck me, the heating was very, very high. The TV was on as well as the lights in the lounge."

Mr Okon was found kneeling in front of the toilet. Officers also recovered a number of letters and notes which the coroner described as "ramblings". Hornsey Coroner's Court heard the dead man's body had been infested by maggots.

The post mortem report read: "There was significant skin slippage, colour change, bloating and creepy-crawlie infestation." Due to the state of the body, the post mortem found no conclusive reasons for Mr Okon's death.

His sister, Dr. Okon, flew in from Nigeria to give evidence at the inquest. She said: "I was in close contact with my brother until 2002, that was the last time I spoke to him.

"We come from a very privileged background in Africa and between 2002 and 2004 was the first time my brother was hard up for cash. How he dealt with this I cannot say."

Coroner, Dr. William Dolman, said: "Flies lay their eggs on tissue, it takes three days for these to hatch into maggots and another three days to turn into flies. "Mr. Okon had, therefore, been dead for some time."

An open verdict of unascertained cause of death was recorded.