Open verdict on death of Frank Warren’s brother Mark

Published: 15 October, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

A CORONER has been forced to return an open verdict into the death of Mark Warren, brother of boxing promoter Frank Warren.

Mr Warren, 43, suffered multiple injuries after falling from his fifth-floor flat at St Philip House, in Lloyd Baker Street, Clerkenwell, in July. He was pronounced dead at the scene half an hour later. 

But an inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Tuesday could provide no evidence as to whether Mr Warren, who had suffered a stroke nine months previously, fell or jumped from the balcony.

Giving evidence at the hearing, his brother Robert, who saw him two days before he was found, told the court he was in “good spirits” at that time. 

“We went out to buy him some new clothes because we were throwing a surprise party for my father, which he was really looking forward to,” he said. 

A neighbour, Antonio Ferrera, also told the court he had seen Mr Warren just hours before his death – when Mr Warren asked him to fix a broken television – but didn’t suspect there was anything wrong.

He said: “I told him I didn’t think I was going to be able to fix it, because it looked as though it had fallen or been hit. He was annoyed about the TV but he seemed normal. If I thought anything was wrong with him I wouldn’t have left him alone.”

Mr Warren was the youngest sibling of Frank, the 58-year-old promoter who has managed some of the greatest boxers of the last 30 years, including ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed, Nigel Benn and Joe Calzaghe.

The court heard Mr Warren had a history of schizophrenia and had been taking medication for some time. 

But after his death family members found packets of pills that suggested he was only taking it “sporadically”.

Recording an open verdict, coroner Dr Andrew Reid said: “The possibility that this was an accidental death or act of misadventure cannot be excluded. 

“I must therefore give Mr Warren the benefit of the doubt in returning an open verdict.”