Pontefract man's Thailand holiday death fall tragedy: Open verdict at inquest

Coroners in Wakefield are appealing for information to trace a man's relatives.Coroners in Wakefield are appealing for information to trace a man's relatives.
Coroners in Wakefield are appealing for information to trace a man's relatives.
A CORONER recorded an open verdict at an inquest into the death of a 31-year-old Pontefract man who suffered multiple fatal injuries in a fall from the window of a guest house in Thailand.

Wakefield Coroner’s Court heard Christopher Laidler had travelled to Thailand for a holiday on April 5 and was staying at a guest house on Walking Street in the Pattaya district when the tragedy happened.

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The inquest heard Mr Laidler, a former care assistant at Copper Hill nursing home in Hunslet, Leeds, died as a result of multiple injuries sustained in a fall.

Area coroner Jonathan Leach told the inquest that Thai police responded to a report that someone had fallen from height just before 5am on April 14.

Reading a report from police captain Sanan Khotanon, Mr Leach said: “He went to investigate and found a 31-year-old British national injured.

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“He went to inspect the room he was staying in from which the officer thought he had fallen and says there were no signs of a burglary.”

Mr Laidler, of Doncaster Road, East Hardwick, Pontefract, was taken to hospital where his death was confirmed that day.

The inquest heard guest house CCTV recordings showed Mr Laidler walking to his room alone at 3.35am that morning.

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Mr Leach said: “The preliminary assumption from police was that he probably committed suicide and climbed out of the window and jumped out on to the road to his death.

“It seems to me there is no evidence at all he intended to take his own life.”

Recording an open verdict, Mr Leach told the hearing: “How he came to fall is unknown. My conclusion is open because the means whereby the death occured is unknown.”