Family believe man killed was pushed
Nov 11 2005
THE grieving relatives of a man who plunged to his death from a
multi-storey car park think he may have been murdered.
Thriasivoulos Akrivopoulos, 24, died when he fell from the eighth
floor of the car park in Camden Road, Sutton.
But after an inquest this week ruled there was no evidence he had
committed suicide, his family said they thought he had been pushed or
thrown to his death.
His father Dimitrious Akrivopoulos said: "The family believe there
was someone else involved but there was no proof."
Sister Katrina added: "He was threatened a few months back at
knifepoint by someone."
Police, however, said they were happy there was no link between the
knife attack and his death but the family repeatedly told the inquest
someone else had to be involved in his death.
The inquest heard that Mr Akrivopoulos was seen on CCTV entering the
car park but there was nobody else with him, and his fall could not have
been an accident as the barrier around the edge was too high to stumble
over.
But his death remains a mystery as there were no witnesses, apart
from one woman who saw him caught in a tree below the car park before he
fell to the ground.
Although Mr Akrivopoulos, of Egmont Road, Sutton, had suffered from
mental illness in the past, doctors said he had made a full recovery and
was happy and problem-free at the time of his tragic death.
His father said: "I believe his problems started after he took a job
at Pizza Hut in Carshalton when he was 17."
Thriasivoulos stopped a robber trying to steal from the till, but it
seems the event affected him badly because he became troubled and started
to smoke a lot of cannabis.
Sister Joanna, 22, said: "He was away at Loch Ness in Scotland when
he was sectioned after he was found staring into the water and was sent to
Sutton Hospital for treatment."
It was heard that he then started to hear voices and had become
convinced aliens were putting different machines and devices into his
brain to control his emotions.
Mr Akrivopoulos was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but had
made a full recovery two years before his death this April.
Psychiatrist Dr Swaran Singh told the inquest: "He was back in work
and looking forward to the future. There were no signs of depression or
other mental distress and I do not know what led to Mr Akrivopoulos
falling from the car park.
"This appears to have been an entirely unpredictable event with no
previous suicide attempts.
"We could not have foreseen this tragedy." Giving an open verdict,
Coroner Dr Roy Palmer said: "There is no evidence to persuade me he had a
settled intention to end his life, it might have been an accident but it
seems unlikely.
"There is no other realistic explanation, no one else was seen to go
in to the building, there is no evidence of a struggle and no evidence of
anyone else being involved."
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