I would too. Unless his mother’s claims are not being taken seriously and they have not...I would expect the police to have looked to see where money had come from.
I would too. Unless his mother’s claims are not being taken seriously and they have not...I would expect the police to have looked to see where money had come from.
I would too. Unless his mother’s claims are not being taken seriously and they have not...
Yes. I can’t obviously be sure. But I would hope they are being thorough.
If he went into the forest and was delusion or disorientated I just don't personally see him making it to the Pond. If you just picked a random direction and started walking from the last sighting the ponds are not that big that you'd expect to randomly come across one. I could get more behind it if he was seen making the right onto Epping New Road
So many variables, many of which are unknown/unknowable, such as his medical history, his drug regimen, what the ambient temperature at home was, whether he'd had alcohol, exactly what weight his clothing was (it looked thin but could have been microfleece, for instance), wind chill factor on the night he left home, etc. However, all that said, my feeling is that if he had just walked around for a while and then gone home again, he would probably have been fine with some rehydration and pain relief. However, cold water is another matter and if it can be demonstrated that he entered the water voluntarily, then that is the strongest indication yet imo that this was genuinely a suicide, caused by deliberate provocation of sickle cell crisis, triggering a cascade of biochemical changes that will have first caused pain and difficulty moving limbs, then difficulty breathing, followed probably by seizure and stroke.
I am personally still very sceptical, though, that he travelled all the way to an unfamiliar location and then walked an appreciable distance in the pitch black to a particular body of water, when there were others he would have passed along the way, in order to execute such a fundamentally simple plan.
Yes, @JuicyLucy, it's difficult to believe, and I too am very sceptical that Richard set out from home with the intention to kill himself in Epping Forest.
I do wonder where he was and what he may have experienced, unknown to us, during the 1 1/2 hours prior to taking the taxi. Perhaps something happened during that time that triggered an overwhelming desire to leave this world, but even if that's the case, I think it's highly unlikely to be the reason he travelled to Loughton.
The BBC reports,
"Though the death is being treated as unexplained, detectives say they don't believe a third party was involved."
"Don't believe a third party was involved "isn't as definitive as "have ruled out third-party involvement". It leaves room for doubt, perhaps in case the PM shows otherwise. Or, in spite of heaping pain on top of Evidence's agony, might LE state "they don't believe a third party was involved" hoping to encourage careless behaviour in a perp?
Then there's this, "The cause of death is pending while further investigations are carried out, but police say they found no evidence of physical trauma or assault."
Injected or ingested toxins causing death would leave no readily discernible evidence of physical trauma or assault.
Richard Okorogheye: Mother does not believe son took his own life
'He loved life, he had plans, he had aspirations'
I'm very curious about the bag he was carrying. The CCTV from the bus doesn't show the bag but he can be seen clutching the bag when he gets out the UBer in Loughton. I wonder if he met a friend ,picked something up that was to be dropped off in Loughton? Could this be the reason for the trip there? Also was this bag found when his body was recovered and what was in the bag. If the bag hasn't been found then perhaps it was taken? If he left without his wallet or meds then what did he take with him? JMO but I do think the bag is significant and another reason I don't think this adds up to suicide. What would you need to take with you that's more important than your wallet phone or jacket? Plus the timing of the Uber is interesting to me, its approx a 45 min journey from the area he was in to Loughton meaning he would of got the Uber near on midnight.. trains stop running shortly before midnight so perhaps he missed the last train out hence getting a cab . Seems more plausible to me that he got bus to meet someone near him to pick something up ( what I'm not sure) missed last train to Loughton so got a cab. Suicide just doesn't really fit IMO. Just really hoping a conclusive cause of death can be established
The post-mortem diagnosis of vasocclusive crisis in sickle cell disease
Scientific paper on post mortem diagnosis of sickle cell crisis, plus other related info.
IMO it’s a rope, knife, gun, alcohol or a combination of those. It’s what he used. Sorry.
One thing I think we can rely on is that the body is very decomposed. If it were not, that would suggest Richard had been alive, if not necessarily well, for some time before he entered the water
This is a study on pigs and shows some graphic images for warning but I was surprised at how slow it can be in reasonably cool water without predators: http://www.pottidiving.com/documenten/Freshwater submerged body decomposition.pdf