The police were soon able to determine that the person had died from natural causes. Whether the deceased was the room’s occupant has still not been officially confirmed. That is because the state of the body was such that identification by a member of the family was no longer possible. However, those involved are now assuming that the deceased was the man renting the room. Biometric analysis, for example dental evidence or DNA tests, should give a definitive answer.
The room’s occupant had lived there for eight years. Another person on the same corridor had last seen him in August. ‘He was looking rough. I was about to go on holiday and no-one else was around. So I popped round especially to ask him if everything was OK. He said that he had stomach problems.’ The neighbour can’t remember if this was the last time he saw the man. It was certainly the last time that he spoke to him.