A British man's death, initially suspected to be a murder, was officially ruled an accident after an investigation concluded he died from a self-inflicted injury sustained while heavily intoxicated. Robert Brown, 57, was found slumped over a blood-soaked bench on a canal footpath in Northampton in early August 2025.
The discovery led to three individuals being arrested on suspicion of murder. However, investigators later determined that Brown had inadvertently rolled onto a knife he carried in his backpack while in a deep, drunken sleep. The single-edged, five-inch blade penetrated his clothing and slashed his arm, causing him to bleed out as he slept.
Experts noted at a court hearing that Brown struggled with alcohol dependency, which made him more susceptible to blood loss. Six months after the investigation began, Northamptonshire Police dropped the murder inquiry in February 2026, stating the injury was "likely to have been unintentionally self-inflicted."
Senior Coroner Anne Pember described the incident as a "tragic accident" when the death was officially ruled accidental this week. Robert Brown died on a riverside bench from severe blood loss.