Kenyan inquest hears Alexander Monson 'died of brain injuries'

Alexander Monson moved to Kenya in 2008 to live with his mother

A British forensic expert has told an inquest in Kenya that the son of a British lord died of brain injuries and not a drug overdose.

Alexander Monson, 28, son of the 12th Baron Monson and heir to the family estate in Lincolnshire, died in police custody in Mombasa in 2012.

He had been arrested near a resort in the Kenyan coastal town of Diani.

Police said he died of an overdose, but Dr Jason James said he died of brain injuries caused by blunt objects.

'Substantial pain'

Dr James told the inquest in Mobasa that preliminary findings by two pathologists who carried out autopsies independently showed the 28-year-old had injuries to his genitals and the back of his head.

"There was an ill-defined swelling in the … side of the brain ... not attended by laceration," Dr James said.

He said the injuries to the genitals and the head would have caused "substantial pain, discomfort and probably vomiting".

Dr James said he could not say when the injuries had happened.

Mr Monson, a former Marlborough College pupil, was arrested during a night out with friends in a small resort town on the Kenyan south coast.

He was booked into police custody on suspicion of possessing cannabis.

Senior magistrate Richard Odenyo adjourned the inquiry until 6 October.