Algerian’s death in square ‘suspicious’

Published: 2 April 2010
by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS

AN inquest was opened on Wednesday into the death of a man whose body was found in Bedford Square.

He was named as Algerian national Fathi Bouchareb, 26, at St Pancras Coroner’s Court.

Detective Inspector Leon James spoke only to confirm the identity of the dead man before the case was adjourned. 

Following the discovery of the body in the Bloomsbury square last Thursday at 9am, detectives and forensics officers spent the day combing the grassy areas and flowerbeds for clues.

The death was immediately declared suspicious but is yet to be described as a murder as police wait to establish how Mr Bouchareb died. 

An initial post-mortem examination, carried out over the weekend, was inconclusive and tests continue. 

It is understood that one line of inquiry is the possibility that Mr Bouchareb was strangled.