Clapham chemical suspect Abdul Ezedi killed himself in Thames hours after attack

Clapham chemical suspect Abdul Ezedi took his own life and drowned hours after attacking his ex-girlfriend and her two children.

The 35-year-old hurled oven cleaner over the woman and her two daughters, aged eight and three, in south London at around 7.30pm on January 31.

He also slammed the three-year-old’s head on the ground in the attack before fleeing the scene.

Ezedi’s body was recovered from the River Thames weeks later on February 19 after a huge manhunt saw detectives track his final movements along the river on CCTV.

Senior Coroner Mary Hassell ruled at Poplar Coroners Court that Ezedi, who was found just beneath Chelsea Bridge, died from suicide and drowned.

She told the inquest at Poplar Coroner’s Court in east London: ‘The circumstances surrounding his death are clear in part.

‘The evidence of the Metropolitan Police Service is that he is likely to have entered the River Thames at Chelsea Bridge at approximately 11.30pm.

‘It seems likely to me that he drowned almost immediately and, although he was not found until February 19, 2024, I will put his death as January 31.’

Ruling out the possibility that he was pushed or fell into the water by accident, the coroner said: ‘I have no evidence at all that Mr Ezedi was pushed.

‘The CCTV as described to me by the Metropolitan Police Service does not indicate the presence of any person or persons close to Mr Ezedi on the bridge.

‘While I regard it as possible that Mr Ezedi was pushed, I don’t regard that as likely, and so I consider the final option; that he jumped into the water.

‘Given all the circumstances including what happened earlier in the day, it is likely that he jumped into the water, and it is likely that he did so with the intention of ending his life.

‘A determination of suicide is the appropriate determination.’

CCTV footage put Ezedi on Chelsea Bridge at 11.24pm on January 31, the court heard.

The coroner said ‘it looks to me’ that Ezdei may have entered the River Thames between 11.28pm and 11.32pm.

There is no footage of him walking off the bridge in either direction after that time.

Detective Sergeant Christine Clayton accepted that Ezedi was the prime suspect in the chemical attack.

A positive identification had been made that he was the keeper of a car that was at the scene, she told the court.

No final note was found after his death and he did not go online to research how to take his life, she added.

No members of Ezedi’s family attended the inquest, where a number of statements were also read out to try and piece together his final movements, actions and mindset.

Dr Katie Senior, a GP at a surgery in Newcastle where Ezedi was a patient, said he had only attended twice for poor sleep and eczema and he was not on medication.

She said his past history showed him as having depression when he was with a different GP and he did not have contact with mental health services.

Blood and urine tests were also used to see if Ezedi was intoxicated when he went into the water.

Toxicologist Matthew Christopher said there was a ‘low concentration’ of alcohol, below the legal limits, and drugs were not found.

In his statement, forensic pathologist Dr Robert Chapman described Ezedi as a thin man of short stature whose body showed ‘no evidence of external or internal injury’ but he was ‘significantly decomposed’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.