Found Deceased Holland - Richard Cole, 30, Amsterdam, 25 January 2016

[CoverMeCagney]

This is all reminding me of CJ de Mooi (from TV's Eggheads) and his confession that he "might" have killed someone years ago by pushing them into an Amsterdam canal.

No doubt the post mortem results will be out soon.

 

[dotr]

The Dutch Socialist Party has today announced it is calling for barriers by the canals to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Around 15 bodies are recovered from the city's canals every year, with other recent tragedies including Scottish man Chris Nelson and Norwegian tourist, Tore Grodem.

http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co....Amsterdam_canals_after_death_of_Richard_Cole/

 

[sherlockh]

Here are some more details from a Dutch article.
- His zipper was not open as is usual if it was a 'peeing accident'
- There are unclear CCTV images from the street where he went into the water where he is having some interaction with another male.
http://www.nu.nl/amsterdam/4208605/oorzaak-water-raken-richard-cole-nog-onbekend.html

 

[otto]

It sounds like there was no evidence that he was urinating into the canal, but that doesn't rule out that he stumbled and fell into the canal. His girlfriend did believe that he was so drunk that she should text him his address so he could show it to a cab driver - which suggests that he was blind drunk moments before he went completely offline.

 

[gregjrichards]

Here are some more details from a Dutch article.
- His zipper was not open as is usual if it was a 'peeing accident'
- There are unclear CCTV images from the street where he went into the water where he is having some interaction with another male.
http://www.nu.nl/amsterdam/4208605/oorzaak-water-raken-richard-cole-nog-onbekend.html

Thanks for posting this it is appreciated.

 

[gregjrichards]

http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co....Amsterdam_canals_after_death_of_Richard_Cole/

This would be very sensible too many people have died I hope they see sense and approve funding for it. Do they even have any emergency floating rings nearby for someone to throw in the water when someone falls in? Not that this would be an ideal solution when it is dark and quiet in the middle of the night.

 

[JanetElaine]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-British-art-expert-body-canal-Amsterdam.html

The family of a British man found dead in a canal in Amsterdam still have 'no idea' how he died.
Richard Cole, 30, from Dursley, Gloucestershire, had been travelling from Copenhagen to Assen via the Dutch city.
He went missing after going to bars in the Thorbeckeplein area of Amsterdam last month.
Dutch police discovered his body in the Herengracht canal on February 1 but more than 10 days later his mother Debbie Thornhill said officers had not revealed what caused his death.

 

[sherlockh]

Richard was robbed of his phone but that had apparently nothing to do with how he fell in the water. He was so drunk that he was crawling on the street. A taxi even stopped but then continued.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-35559717

Police released some CCTV images of the robbers.
https://www.politie.nl/mijn-buurt/g...05-wie-bestal-de-verdronken-richard-cole.html

 

[Elainera]

Very sad

 

[JanetElaine]

Richard was robbed of his phone but that had apparently nothing to do with how he fell in the water. He was so drunk that he was crawling on the street. A taxi even stopped but then continued.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-35559717

Police released some CCTV images of the robbers.
https://www.politie.nl/mijn-buurt/g...05-wie-bestal-de-verdronken-richard-cole.html

Okay, the BBC article says a taxi driver stopped to pick Richard up. That is NOT what the Dutch text on politie.nl (the official Dutch police website for cases like this/crime/police information) says.

The official police version says Richard was crawling along the Herengracht near number 537, when a taxi cab drove past him, then reversed and stopped near Richard. The taxi driver is apparently speaking with Richard, and after 30 seconds the taxi drove off towards the Vijzelstraat. It then says: "Shortly after that, Richard rolls into the water of the Herengracht".

I have not, in any of the Dutch publications about this case since he was found, read anything about the police suspecting his drowning to be the result of a crime. That suspicion has ONLY been voiced in British media. Dutch media has only reported that the cause is unknown.
With the above information, I do not think Richard was the victim of a crime (at least not as far as the drowning goes. Obviously he was the victim of a robbery before that). I'm used to the wording Dutch police uses and if they merely had a theory about Richard rolling into the water, they would have said "it is believed that.... he rolled in". If they say 'he rolled in' like that - in my opinion that's what they mean...

:cow:

 

[JanetElaine]

Also, if you look at the Google Streetview image of Herengracht 537, you'll see it shares its front door with Herengracht 535 (the numbers are embedded in the stone as well as the mail boxes in the 'pillars') and on both sides of the door there are CCTV cameras. I think one of these cameras picked up the scene with the taxi cab, and depending on how they were aimed they may have also picked up Richard falling in.

I'll have to go back through this thread to see if it's been narrowed down when the police saw the CCTV footage.

Link to streetview: https://www.google.com/maps/@52.365..._aZQOh2Fu7qkZ73SXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

The correct building should show up when you follow my link. If you put in the address yourself, move over one building to the right. For some reason Google shows 533 as 537. But you can look for the actual numbers on the correct building to find it.

 

[JanetElaine]

My apologies for serial posting.

So going back through the thread, on February 3rd police said they did get CCTV images but they were unclear, and they were working on improving the quality.

They likely finished doing that and then it may have taken them a couple more days to get permission to release the screenshots. And they also could have gotten more footage from different cameras since the 3rd, since they now have footage of the robbery (which happened at the Thorbeckeplein) and of the taxi cab encounter (around the corner and a bit down the road, on the Herengracht).

And then also possibly footage of Richard rolling into the water...

 

[Missoni]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-35629255

Dutch police have arrested a man on suspicion of stealing the wallet of a British man whose body was found in a canal in Amsterdam.
Richard Cole, 30, from Dursley in Gloucestershire, went missing during a night out in the Thorbeckeplein area of the city on 25 January.
His body was recovered from the water a week later.
Detectives investigating his death arrested a 23 year old man and have taken him into custody for questioning.
Police previously said "a number of men" were suspected of robbing Mr Cole, who was "very drunk and therefore an easy target".
But they were not thought to have been directly involved in his death, they added.
The investigation into the other suspects is still under way.

 

[Elainera]

Man suspected of stealing wallet of Richard Cole released
26 Feb 2016

A 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of stealing Mr Cole's wallet has been released by the local prosecutor but remains a suspect.

The man, who was arrested in Rotterdam last Friday, has no criminal record and therefore cannot be held in custody any longer.

http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/14303518.display/