Hailsham roofer found dead in home after accidental fall, coroner says

The inquest at Eastbourne Town Hall on Thursday (October 27) heard Terence Hazelden, a roofer from Lower Dicker in Hailsham, died on August 3 2021. The inquest heard he was found dead in his home with bruises on his body. A post-mortem report found there was a large blood clot over the spleen, long-term liver damage likely caused by alcohol and a number of fractured ribs. However, it was concluded he died due an intra-abdominal haemorrhage caused by a rupture of the spleen.

A second report from Dr Robert Chapman said there was a blunt impact to the chest which would cause some of the rib fractures and damage to the spleen. He said this could have been caused by a heavy fall or by an inflicted impact from someone else. The original post-mortem said Mr Hazelden was found a few days after these injuries were gained. On timings, Dr Chapman said ‘it’s impossible to know’ when the injuries happened because sometimes it can be days between the ribs being fractured, the spleen rupturing, and the internal bleeding into the abdomen leading death.

A criminal investigation was opened by police to find out if there was any third party involvement, but DC Scott Elmer said: “We haven’t found a single piece of evidence to suggest he was pushed. We don’t know why he died. On the balance of probability I believe he fell.”

East Sussex Coroner Alan Craze said: “There are two options - there was physical contact causing the fractures with someone else, but there’s no evidence of that. Or he was under the influence of alcohol and he has fallen onto something blunt, causing damage to the ribs and then the spleen. There’s not enough evidence to warrant a verdict of unlawful killing.”

A GP report from Buxted Medical Centre said he had a history with drugs and alcohol, and was on prescribed medicine but it was not known how compliant he was with taking them. He was also given the details of services like the STAR for drug and alcohol abuse.

DC Elmer said: “It’s more likely than not he’s fallen a few days earlier, been in a lot of pain in those two-three days, he could have even fallen a second time. We know he didn’t go to A&E though.”

Mr Hazelden’s family are unhappy with how the case has been handled and have filed a complaint with the police.

When concluding, Mr Craze said: “There’s no evidence of a crime. He’s fallen accidentally, causing the injuries that caused his death.” He ruled Mr Hazelden’s death was accidental.