Age: 37
Sex: male
Date: 8 May 2007
Place: River Trent, Trent Bridge, Embankment, The Meadows, Nottingham
Robert Keetley was found dead in the River Trent after a night out in Nottingham.
It was thought that he had either been robbed and pushed into the river, or that he had been robbed and had fled his attackers and had then somehow got into the water.
Three people were arrested in connection with his murder in 2008 but were all later released without charge after the Crown Prosecution Service said that there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone.
Robert Keetley had lived in Royston Close in the Meadows, Nottingham and was a production worker at the Riverside Bakery nearby. He was reported missing on 28 April 2007 and later found in the River Trent near Trent Bridge on 8 May 2007.
He was last seen at the New Foresters pub in St Ann’s Street at about 2.40am on 28 April 2007 and then later seen on CCTV in Huntingdon Street walking along the road.
When his body was recovered from the river, several of his personal items were missing, in particular his:
A detective said, 'We believe Robert was the victim of a robbery because we know that when his body was found, his mobile phone, a gold neck chain with an ''R' pendant attached and an Armani watch were missing. We believe, as a consequence, Robert has been forced to enter the river, either fleeing from the robbers or being forced in by the robbers'. He added, 'There is no indication whatsoever of either an accident or suicide'.
His inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing, but his exact cause of death was uncertain, although believed to have been due to drowning.
