A coroner's inquest into the death of Asos co-founder Quentin Griffiths has been adjourned, with the presiding official expressing concern over the limited evidence available and the difficulty in obtaining further details from Thai authorities.
Griffiths, 58, died in February after falling from the 17th floor of the Elysium Residences in Pattaya, Thailand. Dorset Coroner Rachael Griffin told a pre-inquest review that the investigation has so far been hampered by a translated police report offering only brief circumstances of the death and a translated post-mortem report.
While acknowledging that rumors have suggested sinister circumstances, Griffin stated that the available evidence indicates Griffiths was alone in his apartment at the time of the fall. "Very sadly we know he fell from a height that led to his death, whether that fall was a deliberate fall or an accidental fall," Griffin told the court. "At this moment in time, on the basis of the evidence I have, there are a lot of questions waiting to be answered and that might not change."
The coroner has requested the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to seek additional information from Thai authorities. "One of the challenges we face is the level of investigation depends on where the death occurs," Griffin explained. "What we are trying to establish is whether there is anything else we can access to this police investigation."
Griffiths, who co-founded the fashion website As Seen On Screen, later known as Asos, sold much of his stake in the company in 2010. He remained a major shareholder for many years before moving to Thailand.
Thai police are reportedly satisfied that Griffiths took his own life. Their investigation found the apartment was locked from the inside, with no signs of a struggle or any witnesses seeing anyone enter or leave the flat. Detectives noted that Griffiths had been drinking daily in the lead-up to his death and friends described his behavior as erratic.
Earlier in the year, it was reported that Griffiths had been overheard arguing on the phone shortly before his fall. He had also been facing an 18-month prison sentence for fraud and forgery related to an attempt to remove his ex-wife, Ploy Kringsinthanakun, as a director of a firm they co-ran. He had been on bail at the time of his death.
Griffiths and Kringsinthanakun, a Thai national, had been together for 16 years and had two children before separating five years prior to his death. Thai media reported that a meeting with solicitors concerning his legal situation was scheduled for two days after his death.
Kringsinthanakun has denied any involvement in her ex-husband's death. In February, she stated at a press conference, "I had absolutely nothing to do with his death. How could I kill him? How would I know anything about it? I live in Bangkok - I wasn’t in Pattaya."
Further mystery surrounds the reported disappearance of approximately £3 million in cryptocurrency from Griffiths' digital wallet in the days following his death.
The inquest was adjourned for a further hearing in March of the following year to allow more time for the FCDO and Griffiths' family to attempt to gather more information. The coroner extended her condolences to Griffiths' family, acknowledging that his death had come as a shock and that many questions remained unanswered.