Banker Accused of 'Putney Pusher' Attack Dies; Sisters Blame Police

The sisters of Nicholas Brandram, a banker with royal ties accused of being the "Putney Pusher," have blamed police for his death this week, asserting that he was being "slowly murdered" by the allegations and was eager to prove his innocence.

Brandram, 44, was arrested and charged in June in connection with a 2017 incident where a jogger was filmed pushing a woman into the path of a moving bus on Putney Bridge. His sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, told The Guardian and BBC's "Today" program that their brother was determined to clear his name and had offered to pay for expedited DNA testing.

According to Hicks and Voelcker, Brandram had already provided a DNA sample to the Metropolitan Police. They stated that police initially told him they would have results within four weeks. However, shortly before his death on Tuesday, an officer reportedly informed him that they could no longer provide a timeline for the results.

"We put faith into the system, the justice system," Hicks said, speaking to the BBC. "We put faith into the Metropolitan Police. We wanted them to carry out their investigation because we’re so sure that Nick is innocent."

The sisters claim that Brandram's innocence could have been established through several factors, including an email sent from his Bond Street office at the time of the incident, which they argue proves he could not have been at the scene. They also highlighted that Brandram had no known connection to the Putney area, possessed blue eyes (contrary to a witness description of brown eyes), had a "visibly wasted and disfigured calf" not apparent in the video, and had a "prominent forearm tattoo" that was not visible in the footage.

Furthermore, Brandram had offered to participate in an identification parade, which his sisters say the Metropolitan Police never organized. They maintain that there was "absolutely nothing connecting our brother to the attack" nine and a half years after the incident occurred.

Brandram was found dead at his home in Chiswick on Tuesday. The Metropolitan Police have referred the death to the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog. Scotland Yard described the death as "unexpected" but not suspicious. Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles of the Metropolitan Police expressed condolences to Brandram's family, acknowledging the strain of a police investigation. He stated that investigations of this nature, particularly those involving complex forensic work, can take several months to complete.