Mystery of Tattooed man - body of Kieran Michael John Toman, found in Hyde Park Towers Hotel room

Published: 22 October 2010
by JOSH LOEB

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a heavily tattooed man whose body was found alongside his “worldy goods” in the bathroom of his Bayswater hotel room, an inquest heard on Wednesday.

The body of Kieran Michael John Toman, 40, was found in a room in the Hyde Park Towers Hotel in Inverness Terrace on July 23 this year, two weeks after he had booked in and asked staff not to disturb him.

PC Emily Wells from Paddington Green Police Station told the inquest at Westminster Coroner’s Court in Victoria that police had arrived at the building at 10.40am after the head housekeeper had entered the room and found Mr Toman’s body after being alerted to “a bad smell”.

Mr Toman had later been identified via bank cards and his passport, which were found in the room and which gave his place of birth as Pembroke in Wales.

Nothing else is known about his background and the whereabouts of any family is unknown.

Assistant deputy coroner Dr William Dolman said toxicology reports had “not found anything of note” and that drug screening had also come back negative.

He said Mr Toman, who had no criminal record, had “tattoos on both forearms and on his legs”.

He 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.”

Dr Dolman said Mr Toman had “all of his wordly goods” with him, including a notebook filled with “spidery writing”. 

He 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”.