Suicide At The River
A BODY WAS found in the early hours of Monday morning close to the newly opened graduate annex belonging to Hertford College.
Although initial fears were that the victim might have been a student, his identity has since been confirmed as 28 year-old Damian Sutton. Sutton was unemployed at the time of his death.
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: "We received a phone call from a member of the public who had seen the body at 6.15am. Police immediately hurried to the scene."
He added that: "An investigation has begun but we're not treating the incident as suspicious. The area is now a crime scene and will remain sealed off until our investigations are complete."
Sutton was found hanging from a metal footbridge close to Folly Bridge on Hertford College land. Students of the college were ushered past the disturbing sight as police and forensic teams commenced their investigation.
An underwater search team was called to retrieve the victim, launching a dinghy from steps leading from a nearby public house.
Sutton's body was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital. An inquest will be held at a later date.
An eyewitness described how police attempted to shield the grim scene from curious onlookers.
"Graduates were warned by College staff not to look out of their windows. Police officers hung a grey tarpaulin from the bridge so passers-by couldn't see it, but there were queues of traffic filing past on the Abingdon Road. The body could easily be seen from there or from the public footpath by the river."
The graduate annex was only completed at the beginning of the summer, and is due to be opened officially by the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor of the University at the end of the month.
The incident serves to highlight the often desperate measures that people are prepared to take when facing difficult problems.
Director of the Oxfordshire Counselling Service, Philip Rogers, said: "Often the kind of person who commits suicide has a certain kind of background and their earlier life can have a great deal to do with carrying out such an extreme act.
19th Oct 2000