Coroner hears missing man was 'in distress' before body part find

Police said Colin Wood had come to them in the days before the discovery of remains, distressed and seeking help with accommodation

A coroner looking into the death of a man whose body part was found on a beach has returned an open conclusion.

Norfolk Coroner's Court heard a large piece of Colin Wood's abdomen was discovered by a man fishing off Wellington Pier, Great Yarmouth, in May 2022.

A post-mortem examination was unable to confirm a medical cause of death or rule out third-party involvement.

Police linked the body part to Mr Wood, who had gone missing a few days before.

Mr Wood, 53, who lived in the Great Yarmouth area, was said to be known to mental health services in the county, but was not being treated at the time, although he was on medication for a personality disorder.

He had on two occasions tried to take his own life - in 2014 and 2017 - following the death of a sister, the inquest heard.

He was living temporarily with a friend in the Cobham area of Great Yarmouth after being evicted from his own home.

'State of distress'

In the days leading up to his death, Mr Wood went to the police to try and seek help with accommodation, the coroner was told.

The area's crisis response team worker said he reported Mr Wood feeling suicidal due to his housing issues.

Following the discovery of the body part, police commissioned a report from the Waves Group.

It said the area where his body likely entered the water was in a very busy shipping lane, with 50 to 100 vessels passing in any 24-hour period.

Experts suggested a medium or large ship's propeller may have inflicted damage to his body.

Assistant coroner Christopher Leach confirmed the rest of Mr Wood's body had never been found.

Summarising, Mr Leach said he was mindful of the pathologist's finding that Mr Wood's body might have been dismembered by another person before entering the sea.

He said that in the days before the body part was found, "Colin was clearly in a state of some distress" over his housing situation.

Mr Leach said there was no evidence, despite his history of self-harm, whether or not Mr Wood took his own life.

The coroner concluded the medical cause of death to be uncertifiable as per the post mortem report, and recorded an open conclusion.

He described his death as "tragic" and offered condolences to Mr Wood's relatives.