Mysterious death of man found in country home garden '˜not suspicious', say police

A retired couple who own the six-bedroom home were horrified to find the dead man, aged in his forties, on Sunday morning, in the grounds of their £1.5 million home. 

Officers were called to the property on Midhurst Road, Petersfield, at 9.40am on Sunday (November 11). 

A spokesman for Hampshire Police said the death was being treated as unexplained but non-suspicious.

He said: '˜The man has now been formally identified and his next of kin have been informed.

'˜A post-mortem examination took place yesterday afternoon (Monday November 12).

'˜The findings were inconclusive.

'˜At this stage, the man's death is being treated as unexplained but non-suspicious.

'˜Inquiries are ongoing.' 

Neighbours in Petersfield said the grisly discovery had been both upsetting and baffling, especially for Susan who found the body when she left the house to go for a run.

A retired man who lives nearby said: '˜Sue found the man at the bottom of her garden. She was going for her morning run.

'˜Sue and Iain are totally bewildered and shocked by it all. As you can imagine it's quite distressing.'

A female neighbour said: '˜A man's body was found in the garden and police have been around since Sunday morning looking at when and how he died and who he is.

'˜It has nothing to do with the owners. They found this man yesterday morning and obviously are very upset by the whole thing.

'˜The area has been treated like a crime scene ever since and we've all had the police around.

'˜They don't know how he died and none of us know who he is.

'˜That's why there's been a lot of speculation and conjecture about what might have happened.

'˜Did someone mean him harm? Was he on drugs? Was it a hit and run?

'˜The local road - the A272 - is used like a race track these days and so one wonders if he was hit and staggered into the garden.

'˜It's all very strange and it's absolutely not something anyone here would have expected to happen.

'˜I went round to see Iain and Susan this morning and they are okay but of course it's an upsetting business.'