The family of Ed Cornes, a 19-year-old gay student found dead in a London hotel say police failures — driven by homophobia — meant the circumstances of his death were never properly investigated.
Ed was just 2 days into his first term at University College London when he died in October 2021. nearly four years on, his mother, Miriam Blythe, says she still has questions over how or why he died — and she has no confidence in the Metropolitan Police or its handling of the case.
She accuses officers of focusing on his sexuality, of failing to interview key witnesses, and allowing crucial evidence to be lost while the death was still being treated as a potential murder.
The Metropolitan Police say an extensive investigation ruled out third-party involvement and that this conclusion was upheld at an inquest — but have apologised for aspects of how the case was handled.
In a statement, Metropolitan Police Commander Stephen Clayman said:
“It’s difficult to hear how the handling of our investigation into Edward’s death has added to the family’s pain during this painful time.
“The extensive investigation, which was subsequently reviewed, ruled out third-party involvement in Edward’s death and this conclusion was later reinforced at the inquest.
“But we accept that aspects of the way in which the case was handled did not meet the high standards we expect. While this did not affect the outcome of the investigation, we apologise to Edward’s family and friends for any further distress this caused.”
Four years on, Miriam says she is still haunted — not only by how and why her son died, but by what she believes was a failure by the Metropolitan Police to treat his death with the seriousness it deserved.
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