Coroner’s report into death of Trent student

Miron Filipovic, 21, was described as “a popular young man with great academic potential and clearly very happy in his social life and work life” at an inquest into his death at Nottingham Coroner’s Court (pictured).

The Dutch foreign exchange student had been at a party in Castle Gate on the night of November 13 and was last seen at 11pm. Friends alerted Nottinghamshire Police that he was missing when he didn’t to come back to his halls of residence. His body was found on November 17 in a canal off London Road, between the Premier Inn hotel and BBC building.

The court heard Mr Filipovic had been seen stumbling along London Road in the early hours of November 14. A man working for the NHS walk-in centre also contacted the police when the student tried to enter the building. He was then seen trying to climb over a hedge near the Premier Inn.

Three witnesses have said they thought Mr Filipovic had been vomiting. Food stuck in his windpipe was listed as the cause of death. Drowning was ruled out after a post mortem of the body.

It is believed Mr Filipovic fell into the canal because he was drunk. Friends said they thought he had more to drink than what he normally did at the party. Miriam Casey, Deputy Assistant Coroner for Nottingham, said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death and returned a verdict of accidental death.

She added: “The tragedy of this case was this was a young man in the prime of his life who worked hard and partied hard.”

Miss Casey also warned: “Young people have to be very careful, particularly when they have been isolated from a group of friends, if they find themselves so intoxicated that they lose orientation and any sense of where they are.”

Miron Filpovic was put to rest in Holland on December 11. Nottingham Trent University has created an online book of condolences.

Oliver Whitfield-Miocic

Picture: © Google 2010

Tags: Coroner, Drinking, Inquest, miron filipovic, Student