Police chief's body showed no signs of fall
From Grough
A post-mortem examination carried out on the body of the police chief found on Snowdon found no signs of trauma from a jump or a fall.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Michael Todd’s remains were found buried by snow on a sloping path near Bwlch Glas, the col where the popular Pyg Track meets the Snowdon Mountain Railway. A bottle of gin was found near the body.
Toxicology tests will now be carried out to find out if any drink or drugs were present in Mr Todd’s body. Coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones said he hoped to have the result of these tests by tomorrow. Alcohol is known to increase the effects of hypothermia. Mr Pritchard-Jones, coroner for north-west Wales, said there was ‘no obvious cause of death’. An inquest will open tomorrow.
Suicide is a still being investigated as a possible cause of the policeman’s death after it emerged he sent a series of worrying text messages to various people. Colleagues have also reported receiving anguished phone calls from Mr Todd. A search was mounted after these were received. Initially, the search involved a lifeboat and coastguards in the Menai Strait after triangulation of his mobile phone signals suggested this was his location. The search switched to Snowdon after walkers on the mountain found his personal effects.
Like the comments on this article suggest, there are worrying similarities between the death of Michael Tood and those of Dr. David Kelly and the UK Parliament's most vocal opponent to the Iraq war, Robin Cook.
