The family of a father found fatally injured on a Wolverhampton school field has made an emotional appeal for the person who recovered his e-bike from a canal to come forward.
Neil Thompson, known affectionately as Chuck, was discovered by an 11-year-old girl at Smestow Academy in January as she prepared for a PE lesson.
The 45-year-old had suffered devastating facial and head injuries. An inquest heard that he died from aspiration of blood caused by traumatic facial injuries and a serious head injury.
Police initially investigated his death as a potential murder, but officers now believe Neil was catastrophically injured after coming off his electric bike along Smestow Canal in the early hours of January 19.
Yet important questions remain unanswered about exactly what happened to him and how he ended up on the school playing field.
Rust-covered bike found beside a canal bridge
The latest development came after Neil’s e-bike was recovered from the canal.
The mud- and rust-covered bike was apparently pulled from the water and left propped against a bridge near a lock.
Now, on what would have been Neil’s 46th birthday, his family has asked the person who recovered it to contact police.
They want to know precisely where the bike was taken from the canal so they can have a place to visit and leave flowers in Neil’s memory.
Detective Sergeant Amie Petford, of West Midlands Police, said: “His family are now asking the person who got the bike out of the water gets in touch so that they can have a place where they can go to grieve.
“The bike was rusty and appeared that someone had pulled it out of the canal and left it by a bridge at a lock so it is likely it would have been near there, but his family are hoping to know exactly where so they can lay flowers.”
Police said the efforts of the person who recovered the bike were appreciated, as finding it ultimately helped investigators locate the e-bike.
Final movements remain a mystery
Neil left his home on his electric bike at around 8.17pm on January 18 to visit a friend.
He left at approximately 1am the following morning, and CCTV captured him travelling along a canal towpath at around 1.26am.
A member of the public walking their dog through Smestow Valley Nature Reserve later photographed Neil in the grounds of Smestow Academy at around 7.15am.
He was believed to still be alive at that time.
However, investigators have been unable to establish exactly what happened during the hours between the CCTV sighting and the discovery of his body.
The investigation placed Neil on the canal towpath between approximately 1am and 1.26am, but there was no footage showing how he sustained his injuries.
The inquest also heard that there was no clear explanation for how Neil travelled from the towpath to the school playing field where he was eventually found.
Injuries could have followed a fall or assault
A post-mortem examination found significant injuries to the left side of Neil’s face, evidence of a traumatic brain injury and a fracture around his left eye socket.
Consultant pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer told the inquest that the injuries were consistent with blunt-force trauma.
He said they could have been caused by a heavy fall, although an assault could not be ruled out.
Police have since formed the view that Neil’s injuries were sustained when his e-bike crashed into the canal.
His family had previously described him as a much-loved son, brother, father and friend whose greatest passion was fishing.
In a statement following his death, they said Chuck was “very much loved in the community of fishing, his one true love”.
They added: “His love for life and funny stories touched the lives of so many people.”
Schoolgirl left ‘really shaken’ by discovery
Neil’s death also had a profound impact on the young girl who discovered him.
The 11-year-old was preparing for PE when she came across his body near the school’s goalposts.
Her father previously described how frightened and distressed she was after making the discovery.
He said his daughter called her mother “screaming” and told her she had found a dead body on the field.
“She’s only 11 years of age. They went out for PE and it was very foggy. It’s terrible what she’s had to see,” he said.
The circumstances surrounding Neil’s final hours remain unclear, and his family are now hoping a small but potentially important piece of information can give them some closure.
Anyone who pulled Neil’s e-bike from the canal is urged to contact West Midlands Police, quoting crime reference log 1452 of January 19.
The family specifically wants to know where the bike was recovered so they can visit the location, lay flowers and have somewhere connected to Neil to remember him.