Hillside death inquest opens

Jan 8 2009 by Emma Davison, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

AN inquest into the death of a Huddersfield man found on a frozen hillside on New Year’s Day has been opened.

Stephen Cox’s body was discovered on open land off Cross Lane at Primrose Hill on the morning of January 1.

The 48-year-old from Farehill Road, Berry Brow, was found clutching a £10 note in his hand and with his cash and wallet nearby.

Mr Cox, who lived alone and was unemployed, is believed to have died from the cold.

One theory is that he was walking home on New Year’s Eve and that he was trying to put the £10 back in his wallet when he collapsed.

Anna Kennedy spotted the body on the steep hillside between Primrose Hill and Newsome as she looked out of her window on Cross Lane at 10.30am on New Year’s Day.

She alerted her husband, Bill, who went to investigate with two neighbours. As soon as they approached Mr Cox they realised he was dead.

Despite temperatures on New Year’s Eve night plummeting as low as -5° C Mr Cox was wearing no coat. His body was clad in only a short-sleeved summer shirt and jeans.

Coroner’s officers launched an appeal in the Examiner to trace Mr Cox’s relatives.

He came from a family of seven siblings.

Two of his sisters, who both live in the Huddersfield area, came forward following the appeal.

The inquest, in Bradford, was opened and adjourned.

At the brief hearing his body was released for cremation.