Inquest held into death of Sunderland man who fell from balcony in the Netherlands

Wayne Hylton, from Oxclose, Washington, was working in the offshore industry in Rotterdam when he tragically died on February 11, 2018.

The 39-year-old had been out drinking and watching the football with his colleague, Timothy Old, on February 10, 2018, before they returned to the apartment that they were sharing, where Mr Hylton then fell off the balcony during the early hours of the morning.

The hearing at Sunderland Coroner’s Court heard how both men had gone onto the balcony to have a cigarette. Mr Hylton fell over the edge prompting Mr Old to head back inside, closing the door behind him and going into his bedroom.

The inquest was told that upon the arrival of the police, Mr Old told them that Mr Hilton was in bed asleep before later admitting to police that he had seen Mr Hylton fall and tried to grab him, claiming that he went “into a state of panic”.

Mr Old told the inquest that he and Mr Hylton got on “very well” and did not have any disagreements in the time that they had known each other.

Mr Old went on to say that the incident happened “in the blink of an eye” and that he “couldn’t believe what had happened”, which led to causing his panicked state.

Dutch authorities initially arrested Mr Old in connection with Mr Hylton’s death however the inquest, held at Sunderland Civic Centre, heard that police in the Netherlands, the Dutch prosecution service, the Court of Appeal and Northumbria Police were all satisfied with the conclusion of the investigation which stated there was insufficient evidence to say that Mr Old had been involved.

Sunderland’s Senior Coroner, Derek Winter, did place on record for the inquest that Mr Old had fully co-operated with authorities at home and in the Netherlands in relation to the incident.

Home Office forensic pathologist, Dr Bolton, concluded in her post-mortem report that Mr Hylton had suffered 25 injuries, all consistent with a fall from a significant height, and that a blunt head injury would have lead to the likely cause of death.

Upon concluding the inquest, Mr Winter highlighted that based on the evidence heard in court, he could not reach a definitive conclusion.

He said: “There are some troubling factors as to how Wayne came to exit the balcony so on the balance of probabilities, the evidence is not sufficient enough to reach a definitive conclusion.

"To consider an accident, I’d have to be satisfied that there was a definitive action to lead to Wayne’s death.

"Had there been a sufficient recollection from Mr Old, who was impaired by alcohol, I may have submitted to an accident but I cannot on the balance of probabilities.

"The only people who know what truly happened would have been Wayne and Mr Old.

"Wayne Hylton died from a blunt head injury but the means by which he exited the balcony could not be ascertained on the balance of probabilities in totality of the evidence so it is going to be an open conclusion.”

Mr Winter also praised Mr Hylton’s family, who were present in court, adding: “The family have been tremendous advocates for Wayne following his death and have pushed for every line of inquiry to be explored.”

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