Hotel guest starved to death after leaving 'Do Not Disturb' sign on door for TWO weeks
By Daily Mail Reporter
30th October 2010
A hotel guest starved to death after ordering staff not to disturb him - two weeks before his body was found in his room by a maid.
Kieran Toman booked himself a room at the plush Hyde Park Towers Hotel in Bayswater, west London, on July 9 this year and told staff he did not want them to enter his room without permission.
The 115-room hotel - where a double room costs £160-a-night - shot to fame in the 1960s when legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix lived there between November 1966 and February 1967.
An inquest into 39-year-old Mr Toman's death heard how he was discovered in an 'emaciated' state on July 23 - 14 days after he checked in after a maid noticed an unpleasant smell from his room.
Giving evidence at Westminster Coroner's Court last week, Pc Emily-Jane Wells - who was called to the scene - said Mr Toman was found dead in his en-suite bathroom.
She said: 'The housekeeper said she was told by a cleaner there was quite a smell coming from the room.
'She had gone to bang on the door, but there was no reply and when she opened the door she found him lying dead in the bathroom.'
The inquest heard how Mr Toman had booked the room for a five-month period before his body was found just a fortnight into his stay.
Assistant deputy coroner Dr William Dolman said toxicology reports had 'not found anything of note'.
Mr Toman had no criminal record. He was also found to have 'tattoos on both forearms and on his legs'.
Dr Dolman added: 'A solitary man books into a hotel and two weeks later his dead body with signs of decomposition is found in a basement room.
'He himself had asked not to be disturbed but the head housekeeper had realised something was amiss and had got into the room and the rest of the evidence speaks for itself.'
The dead man had 'all of his wordly goods' with him, including a notebook filled with 'spidery writing', the inquest was told.
Dr Dolman said the writing was 'all in capitals' and was 'in some way paranoid' in content.
He added: 'He was one of many men who come to London without any links to anyone else. There are lots of unanswered questions.'
Dr Dolman recorded an open verdict. The cause of death was recorded as 'emaciation'.
It also noted that 'the most significant pathological change' was emaciation.
Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious and coroner Dr Dolman recorded an open verdict.
Jimi Hendrix wrote the song Stone Free at the hotel during his stay in room 89 and the hotel threw a Jimi Hendrix night party in September this year.
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