Coroner cannot say if fatal fall was deliberate

A coroner says they cannot say how Darnel Kimbia came to fall in Thailand

A UK coroner has found "insufficient evidence" to rule on how a man fell from an apartment building in Thailand.

Darnel Kimbia, 24, had been living in Bangkok for more than six months when his body was found in September 2023.

Brighton coroner Joanne Andrews said at an inquest on Wednesday she "cannot say how he came to fall or if this was a deliberate act by him".

In a statement to Mr Kimbia's inquest, his mother Charmaine Baptiste said he enjoyed learning, playing sport and "truly wanted to see the world".

The inquest heard Dr Pongpol Kraitephthanaphai, an assistant professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, gave the cause of death as a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

According to the NHS, this is a rare type of stroke most commonly affecting people who have a brain aneurysm but sometimes caused by severe head injury.

Blood tests showed Mr Kimbia had alcohol in his system when he died, the inquest heard.

Pathologist Dr Mark Taylor, who conducted a second examination in Brighton, reported the likely cause of death was head injuries consistent with a fall from height and there were no other suspicious marks on Mr Kimbia's body.

The hearing was told his family said they had never seen evidence of mental health issues and were not aware he was going to Thailand until he was there.

The inquest also heard Mr Kimbia messaged his mother four days before his death to say the trip was a mistake and he regretted going.

Coroner Joanne Andrews said on Wednesday she had "heard evidence there was a note found" with Mr Kimbia but it was "not clear when it was written and his mum has concerns over its authenticity".

"I cannot say how he came to fall or if this was a deliberate act by him," she told the hearing.

"There is no ongoing criminal investigation by Thai authorities and I am satisfied there are no other injuries, other than the head injury."

'Wonderful human being'

Mr Kimbia moved to Brighton from London as a teenager and went to school at Bhasvic in Hove, before studying at the University of Portsmouth and University of Essex.

His grandmother Beverley O'Geare wrote to the inquest that the 24-year-old, who was one of seven siblings, was "a wonderful human being" and had everything to live for.

"It breaks my heart he is not here with us," she said.

Ms Andrews said: "I hope this inquest gives his family the opportunity to remember somebody who was very much loved and very much missed."

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