Met Police reopen investigation into Ed Cornes’s death and apologise to family

The Metropolitan Police has reopened its investigation into the death of 19-year-old Ed Cornes and apologised to his family for failings in the original inquiry.

Specialist officers are reviewing the investigation into the University College London student’s death to determine whether any further lines of enquiry remain. Detectives have also appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Cornes, who was gay, died in October 2021, just two days after starting his first term at university. His body was found in a basement room at a hotel in King’s Cross, around five minutes from his halls of residence.

What happened to Ed Cornes?

An inquest heard that Cornes had left his halls during the early hours of the morning before meeting 55-year-old Matthew Butler, a man he had not met before, who took him to the hotel. Another man, 58-year-old Ian Casimir, was also in the room.

The court heard Cornes was found dead several hours later with 36 cuts and other injuries. Post-mortem examinations also found high levels of GHB in his bloodstream. Butler and Casimir were arrested on suspicion of murder but were later released without charge. Neither man has been charged with any offence.

Cornes’s family has repeatedly criticised the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the investigation, alleging that homophobic assumptions affected how officers approached the case. They have also said key witnesses were not interviewed and that evidence, including CCTV footage and blood samples, was lost. An internal review by the force later identified 27 failings in the investigation.

Speaking to ITV News after the Met issued its apology, Cornes’s mother, Miriam Blythe, described the move as “shallow” and “too little too late”.

“Too little, too late” – Cornes’s mother, Miriam Blythe to ITV News

“It’s a small victory. I am pleased they are doing a review, and I hope justice will be served in the end,” she said.

“But it’s been a horrible, devastating struggle where I always knew I was right, and had multiple police officers telling me I was wrong.

“Your son dies in horrible circumstances and then the police say it’s all his fault. It’s been devastating.”

The family has also alleged that officers made homophobic assumptions about Ed’s sexuality during the investigation. Blythe previously told the outlet that one officer said “with man-on-man sex, anything can happen”. The Metropolitan Police has acknowledged the comment was made and apologised to the family for the distress it caused.

“We apologise for the pain caused to Edward’s family through the handling of our investigation” – Metropolitan Police in a statement

In a statement, the force said: “We apologise for the pain caused to Edward’s family through the handling of our investigation. We acknowledge that aspects of the initial investigation were not handled correctly and did not meet the high standards we expect.

“We have since met with Edward’s family to apologise in person and recognise the distress our actions have caused.

“Specialist officers are now reviewing the original investigation into Edward’s death and surrounding circumstances to determine if there are any possible further lines of enquiry.”

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) remains ongoing. It is examining complaints relating to the Met’s handling of the original investigation, the subsequent inquest and its communication with Cornes’s family.