Inquest concluded into the death of Leicester 20-year-old man who was found dead at Cromwell Quarry
A family has paid tribute to a ‘funny, loving and often naughty’ 20-year-old whose cause of death will never be known.
Charlie Smith had been subject of a police chase but after evading officers on a cold and wet November night he was never seen alive again — and his remains were only found six months later.
The grim discovery was made at Cromwell Quarry on May 11, 2024, by two unsuspecting members of the public looking for a fishing spot.
An inquest into the young man’s death concluded today (September 16) at Nottingham Council House, where a coroner ruled that the cause will never be truly known.
The inquest heard about the events leading to Charlie’s death, the role of the police in trying to find him and the circumstances in which he was discovered.
It heard how Charlie was born on June 3, 2003 in Leicester and was Nicholas Smith and Catherine Malloy’s second child out of four.
He was described by his mother as a bright child and said to be a wildcard, very popular and to have ‘lots of friends’.
It was heard that on November 4, 2023, Charlie’s mother dropped him at Leicester railway station, with the 20-year-old set to go to Liverpool.
That day, Merseyside Police received reports of a stolen Nissan Navara van from a company in Liverpool.
West Yorkshire Police saw the stolen van, which was said to have false number plates, and made an attempt to stop the vehicle.
At the time, the driver of the vehicle was unknown, as well as the number of people within it. It is now assumed that Charlie may have been driving, although this cannot be proven.
West Yorkshire officers then began to chase the van — at the time heading eastbound on the M62 toward Castleford — after the driver failed to stop. They followed it south on the A1, with the inquest told it was travelling at a dangerous speed.
Nottinghamshire Police joined the pursuit once it reached the county and other forces were contacted.
According to witnesses from West Yorkshire Police and Nottinghamshire Police, the weather on the day was said to be ‘extremely poor’, with low visibility due to the intense rain.
The driver was said to have taken an exit from the A1 to head back northbound, and later exited near the OK Diner north of Newark to go towards Cromwell.
The stolen van was driven to Cromwell Quarry — through the metal gates and into the quarry area itself.
West Yorkshire officers followed the trail into the quarry but they arrived to find the vehicle with its engine running and driver’s door open, with the person who had been behind the wheel now gone.
They waited for specialist units and conducted an initial search in the shrubbery area. Neither knew the area and weren’t aware they were in a quarry.
Nottinghamshire Police dog handler PC James Coupland was told about the chase and was in Arnold at the time. It took about 25 minutes to reach his West Yorkshire colleagues.
PC Coupland, together with Police Dog Rambo, searched the area — with Rambo trying to follow the scent from the abandoned vehicle.
The site was said to be wet and flooded in certain places, including the paths around the lakes. By now it was very dark, windy and cold.
“Even before, unfortunately, finding out the tragic news, those were the worst conditions I have ever worked with a police dog in,” said PC Coupland.
After an hour, the search was called off. Officers say they had no reason to believe that the driver had gone into the water or had been injured.
During that night, Nottinghamshire Police didn’t use a drone or a helicopter to locate the suspect due to the weather conditions.
As a sign of how bad the conditions were, the PC explained that he returned to the site in the summer and noted that a road sign — approximately 6ft tall — was now visible having been covered by floor water on November 4.
On November 8, Charlie’s mother called Leicestershire Police to report her son as missing but, as the young man had breached the curfew tracked by an electronic monitor, he was already in the system as a wanted man, rather than a missing one.
The mother requested the police check CCTV footage of the railway station in hope of helping find Charlie; however, that did not happen.
On November 9, the stolen vehicle was recovered. Nottinghamshire officers did not conduct any forensic investigation or question if any of the other forces involved — Merseyside Police and West Yorkshire Police — wanted to conduct forensic investigations.
The lack of communication between police forces regarding forensics was considered by Detective Constable Kate Waters to be unacceptable when she investigated complaints submitted by Catherine Malloy.
She stated: “These are things that could have been discussed between forces.”
On May 11, 2024, remains were found by two men who were looking to go fishing at the quarry. Nottinghamshire Police received a call on the day at 5.31pm.
Charlie was later identified as his passport and bank card were found in a rucksack nearby. He was linked to the stolen vehicle as he was wearing a high-visibility jacket belonging to the company that the van belonged to.
The body was discovered on a bank, about 10 metres away from a larger lake.
A search team then found some trainers. The family was informed on May 12 about the discovery.
The inquest heard that Charlie didn’t have a mobile phone. He contacted his family and friends through social media via an electronic tablet. The device was never found or seen in any of the pictures taken of the van at the time it was recovered.
It was concluded that the original search conducted on November 4 was reasonable and proportionate.
A post-mortem examination on May 16, 2023, concluded the medical cause of death to be ‘unascertained’, which assistant coroner Nathaneal Hartley agreed with when concluding the inquest.
Mr Hartley could only say that it was likely that Charlie died before the body was found on May 11, and was unable to determine how the 20-year-old man came about his death.
Despite not finding any water in the examination of Charlie’s bone marrow or not finding any injuries, he said it was not possible to conclude whether he died of drowning or after sustaining an injury.
When reading a pen portrait of her son, Catherine Malloy said: “He was a great son and brother and until his later teenage years, we all lived together in Leicester as a family.
“He got into the wrong crowd and things became a little difficult, but I would say Charlie was a typical teenager.
“We all miss and love Charlie very much.”
A statement from Nicholas Smith, Charlie’s dad, said: “Charlie was funny, loving and often naughty.
“He always made me laugh with his humour and his heart was in the right place. Losing Charlie has left a massive hole in our hearts and family.
“Whatever happened, I am still very proud of Charlie.”