Met Police made homophobic assumptions in botched investigation into son's death'

"Popular, bright and widely-liked, Edward had been delighted to discover he had been accepted into the prestigious history course at University College London in the summer of 2021. When Miriam Blythe and Robert Cornes dropped their son off at his halls on 11 October, all seemed well in the life of their 19-year-old son, who had hopes of potentially becoming a barrister. Just 48 hours later, Edward was discovered dead in the basement room of the Goodwood Hotel."

"Two men in their fifties were arrested on suspicion of murder, before the case was dropped. Edward Cornes' parents, Miriam Blythe and Robert Cornes, have been left with unanswered questions and have accused the Met Police of a botched investigation. On 19 October, six days after his death, they claim the force lost the forensic evidence. The also say that the remaining evidence was lost in January of the following year, which included CCTV and crucial evidence such as bed sheets and blood samples."

"Edward Cornes' mother still has questions over how he died and has accused police officers of focusing on his sexuality, losing crucial evidence, and failing to interview witnesses in the days after he was discovered dead in a King's Cross Hotel. The family have also accused the force of taking a homophobic approach to the case which allegedly included telling his parents with man on man sex anything can happen and repeatedly questioning his drug use."

Edward Cornes was a 19-year-old student accepted onto UCL's prestigious history course and hoped to become a barrister. His parents dropped him at his halls on 11 October 2021; 48 hours later he was discovered dead in a basement room of the Goodwood Hotel in King's Cross. A post-mortem found large amounts of alcohol, GHB and crystal meth in his system. Two men in their fifties were arrested on suspicion of murder before charges were dropped. The family say forensic evidence, including CCTV, bed sheets and blood samples, was lost by the Metropolitan Police in October and again the following January. The family accuse police of homophobic assumptions and failures to interview witnesses.

Read at www.independent.co.uk