A British father died in a freak accident after he drunkenly fell asleep on a knife inside his bag, an inquest has heard.
Robert Brown, 57, was first believed to have been the victim of a homicide after he was discovered slumped on a blood-stained bench along a canal footpath in Northampton in the early hours of Aug. 1, according to the Northampton Chronicle and Echo. Three people were arrested in connection with the case but were later released.
Investigators later determined that Brown had “rolled onto a knife carried in his backpack” while he was in a deep sleep brought on by alcohol, a court hearing into his death was told.
The single-edged blade, measuring about five inches, pierced the bag and cut through three layers of Brown’s clothing before slicing into his arm. He remained asleep on the bench as he gradually lost blood.
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Experts told the hearing that Brown had struggled with alcohol dependency, a condition that may have made him more vulnerable to the effects of blood loss.
Northamptonshire Police formally ended the murder investigation in February 2026, six months after it began, saying the fatal injury was “likely to have been unintentionally self-inflicted.”
At an inquest this week, Brown’s death was officially recorded as accidental.
Senior Coroner Anne Pember described the incident on Thursday as a “tragic accident” as she delivered the ruling.
