Chocolate murder attempt case closed by police

Jody Bunting (right) was arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder Kimberley Hoskins (left)

Police have closed their investigation into a fitness instructor who was suspected of attempting to murder his boss with chocolate.

Jody Bunting was arrested in November 2023 after his manager at a Derby hotel's health club had a severe allergic reaction from inhaling cocoa.

Mr Bunting said he felt "relieved" no further action was being taken against him after the widely publicised case was investigated for more than a year.

However, his manager, Kimberley Hoskins, is taking him and their former employer to tribunal, claiming her allergy amounted to a disability and that they discriminated against her.

Accounts of whose chocolate caused the reaction and who laid it out are conflicting.

Mr Bunting said he did take a chocolate bar into the Derby Mickleover Hotel in late October, when Ms Hoskins was off sick.

However, he said her severe allergic reaction was several days later - after a deep clean had been carried out and while he was on holiday in Morocco - and suggested someone else's chocolate must have caused it.

"I wasn't even in the country, never mind I wasn't even in the health club when she had the attack," he said.

Ms Hoskins, however, claims Mr Bunting had been "plotting with other colleagues" to place chocolate in her office.

Their workplace, meanwhile, suggests that CCTV shows Mr Bunting "leaving chocolate around the leisure club area" - a claim he denies.

Mr Bunting lived in Derbyshire at the time but has since moved to Morocco.

He found out the case had been closed when he received a letter from his solicitor.

"To hear the investigation is completely over is great news," he said.

What does Mr Bunting say happened?

Mr Bunting said he took fruit and nut chocolate into work, but it was on a day Ms Hoskins was not there

Mr Bunting said he took in chocolate for people to share - a fruit and nut bar - on his last day at work on 23 October 2023, when Ms Hoskins was not there. He said chocolate was "not normally allowed" because of his boss's allergy.

"Me and my colleague had some on the early shift and I left the rest of the chocolate bar for the late shift. In our WhatsApp group I messaged the group saying, 'there's some chocolate in the back, enjoy yourselves'," he said.

"The two guys that were on the late shift didn't eat the chocolate and they left it there."

Mr Bunting said when Ms Hoskins came into the club days later, there was chocolate there.

"I've since found out that Kim was sent directly home because she started to get the feelings of anaphylactic shock," he said.

"The hotel did a full clean of the whole of the health club to make sure there isn't any issue, and then Kim came back into work.

"A couple of days later, after the deep clean, that's when she had the anaphylactic shock."

After finding out about the deep clean, Mr Bunting now believes the reaction must have been triggered by someone else's chocolate.

Mr Bunting had flown to Morocco in the meantime, but was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder when he arrived back at Luton Airport on 2 November 2023.

He was interviewed by police and bailed pending further inquiries.

While on bail he spoke to the media about the investigation, which was reported in several national newspapers.

What does Ms Hoskins say happened?

Ms Hoskins was a leisure and spa manager at the hotel

Ms Hoskins did not want to be interviewed, but her position is set out in employment tribunal documents that the BBC has seen.

In her grounds of complaint, Ms Hoskins states she is disabled due to her severe allergy to cocoa, which can "trigger an anaphylactic shock and lead to potentially fatal cardiorespiratory arrest".

She states Mr Bunting "used to joke that I could suffer 'death by chocolate'", which is something he accepts.

She states: "On 23rd October 2023, the Second Respondent [Mr Bunting] placed several pieces of chocolate around the workplace, being fully aware of my disability and that I could have a severe allergic reaction to it causing death."

She states she was "sent home by the First Respondent [the hotel] to avoid any risk to me", but does not specify what date this happened.

She said she returned to work on 26 October "after reassurance by the [hotel] that a 'full search' had been undertaken for the chocolate".

Then, on 28 October, Ms Hoskins states she "came into contact with chocolate which had been placed in a staff-only storage cupboard and suffered a life-threatening anaphylactic shock".

Ms Hoskins said she was taken to intensive care and stayed in hospital for five days.

She claims Mr Bunting had been "plotting with colleagues to throw chocolate into my office to get rid of me".

She also claims Mr Bunting or "another employee" had placed "a piece of chocolate in a staff-only storage cupboard at the hotel".

What has the hotel said?

The hotel said chocolate buttons were found around the leisure club

The hotel has not responded to the BBC, but its position is set out in the tribunal documents.

Its grounds of resistance states that Ms Hoskins's conduct had been investigated before the chocolate incidents "following complaints made by a number of team members".

The investigations found she had left work mid-shift to meet a male colleague and was absent for two-and-a-half hours, leaving the leisure club unmanaged, the tribunal document claims.

She also "did not attend work for a scheduled shift as she had stayed overnight at a hotel in Birmingham" with that same colleague.

On 13 October 2023, Ms Hoskins had a disciplinary hearing and it was found she had committed "gross misconduct, including having left her place of work, without notice or authority, to meet at other locations" with the colleague.

She was given a final written warning and returned to work on 16 October.

It states Mr Bunting resigned by email on the same day. Mr Bunting said this was due to Ms Hoskins's "unprofessional behaviour and poor management".

Two other team members also raised grievances about Ms Hoskins on 16 and 17 October, according to the documents, alleging "inappropriate sexual behaviour in the leisure club" between Ms Hoskins and the male colleague.

Then, on 22 October, Ms Hoskins submitted her own grievance "raising concerns about the treatment that she had received from her colleagues in the complaints that they had made about her".

The hotel states it discovered on 25 October that "chocolate buttons had been placed around the leisure club", but it had "no knowledge who had done this".

This was the day Mr Bunting flew out to Morocco.

The hotel said it sent Ms Hoskins home, "undertook a full and comprehensive search of the leisure club", and it was "confident that all chocolate buttons that had been left were found and disposed of".

The hotel said it then "undertook a deep clean of the leisure club".

It said Ms Hoskins returned to work on 26 October, but came into contact with further chocolate on 28 October. This was the chocolate that resulted in her being treated in intensive care.

The hotel said it investigated this, but concluded there was "no reason to believe" the chocolate had been placed by Mr Bunting.

However, the hotel does not explain what led to this conclusion, nor does it explain what type of chocolate it was or where it was found.

In the documents, the hotel said it "understands, from subsequent events" that Mr Bunting "left chocolate buttons around the Leisure Club area before he left work for the final time" on 23 October.

Mr Bunting disputes this, and insists he left only a half-eaten bar of fruit and nut chocolate in the storage cupboard.

In the papers, the hotel states there is CCTV footage, which shows Mr Bunting "leaving chocolate buttons around the leisure club area".

However, Mr Bunting said he was shown the CCTV by police, and it instead shows him and a colleague eating fruit and nut chocolate in an office, then him entering the store room with the chocolate and leaving without it.

What have police said?

Police started investigating the incident at the hotel in October 2023

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: "Following an investigation into an incident at Mickleover Court Hotel in October 2023, a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and wounding with intent.

"He was bailed pending further inquiries, and a file of evidence was prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"After reviewing the evidence, the CPS made the decision to take no further action against the man.

"We understand the impact that a long-running investigation can have on those involved, however, it is the duty of the force to thoroughly and proportionately investigate reports made to us. The offence that was reported to the force was serious, and the public would rightly expect officers to make all relevant inquiries and gather evidence.

"On this occasion, it was found there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution to be brought.

"Both parties involved in this incident have been made aware of the decision and that no further action will be taken."

What will happen next?

Ms Hoskins (right) is bringing a tribunal against Mr Bunting (left) and their former employer

Ms Hoskins resigned from her job on 11 January 2024, but she is taking the hotel to tribunal claiming constructive unfair dismissal. This is because, she says, she resigned in response to the conduct of her employer and Mr Bunting.

She is also making four claims under the Equality Act: direct discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, failure to make reasonable adjustments, and harassment on the basis of disability.

She is seeking compensation for financial loss, injury to feelings, unfair dismissal, and personal injury.

A three-day hearing is due to be held in Nottingham between 27 and 29 April 2026.