A CORONER returned a verdict of misadventure following an inquest into the death of a man who was found in his bath with stab wounds.

The inquestat Brighton and Hove Coroner’s Court heard how police broke into Jaromir Myszczynski’s flat in Brighton on April 19 to find the body of the 31-year-old, who had not been heard from in five days.

Jaromir’s mother, Elzbieta Myszczynska, had alerted police after travelling from London with her partner Rosemary Morton to visit Jaromir’s flat in Cavendish Place, Brighton, on April 19, after becoming concerned that she had not heard from him since April 14.

Jaromir had returned to his flat on April 14 after visiting a close friend in Norwich and had texted his mother that day.

After receiving no reply at the flat Ms Morton called police who soon attended Cavendish Place to carry out a welfare check.

The inquest heard in a statement from detective sergeant Tony Gander that on entering the flat officers discovered Jaromir in the waterless bath fully clothed with “a number” of stab wounds, a “significant” amount of dried blood and a “large kitchen knife”.

DS Gander said he was quickly satisfied that the death was not suspicious and that the wounds were self-inflicted.

He said that Jaromir’s body appeared to have been there for several days and that there was a half-eaten takeaway with a receipt dated April 14.

There were suitcases found open in the bedroom and a wash load of clothes in the washing machine.

DS Gander said the property was secure when police arrived, there was no other blood found in the flat apart from in the bath and there was no sign of a struggle.

On examining Jaromir’s phone and laptop, the inquest heard nothing was found that could assist with the police’s investigation and no note had been left on the computer or in the flat.

Read more: Local authority failings contributed to death of teenager, coroner says

The inquest heard from a GP report that at the time of his death Jaromir was taking medication to manage his ulcerative colitis, which he had been diagnosed with when he was 18, medication for anxiety and he had also been seen for an injury to his finger.

Ulcerative colitis is a long term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed.

Small ulcers can develop on the colon's lining, and can bleed and produce pus and the condition can be very painful.

The senior business analyst had been diagnosed with anxiety at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, but he was only using medication when his anxiety surfaced, Ms Myszczynska told the inquest.

Assistant coroner Alicia Keen said there was no evidence that Jaromir had reached out to any mental health services and asked Ms Myszczynska if she had a feeling he had been low.

Ms Myszczynska said Jaromir had developed anxiety at the beginning of Covid and had bouts of depression.

She said Covid had changed his job “drastically” having previously travelled a lot to meet with clients but that he had been “very happy” after receiving a “huge” promotion at work.

“He was a bit depressed,” Ms Myszczynska told the inquest.

“Especially working from home.

“Before Covid his girlfriend broke up with him.

“He just had a huge promotion at work.

“It was a massive financial jump.

“He was very happy about it.

“He had just come back from seeing his friend, I didn’t expect it at all.”

DS Gander suggested Jaromir could have felt down due to his ulcerative colitis, but Ms Myszczynska said her son had been handling his colitis well.

“He was exercising, eating, it was just something he had,” she said.

“He complained from time to time, but he managed it well.”

Ms Myszczynska said her son was “crazy” about Star Wars, loved travelling and enjoyed exercise.

He had studied medicine in New York for five years but had decided not to pursue becoming a doctor.

He had lived in the UK for eight years and had moved to Brighton in December 2021.

Ms Keen returned a verdict of misadventure rather than suicide as she was not convinced that Jaromir intended to kill himself.

“He did intend to harm himself but I do not believe the type of wounds were accurate enough to show he intended to kill himself,” she said.

“I don’t feel like I have enough evidence to prove that he intended to take his own life.”