Liam Hill

Liam Hill was found dead at his flat at 1.45pm on Friday 8 January 2016.

He died from head and chest trauma consistent with an attack and had a fractured skull. However, his inquest said that it was impossible to say whether he was assaulted or whether he fell and hit his head.

A 46-year-old-man and 41-year-old woman were arrested in connection with his death, but were later released without charge.

The police said that they thought that he might have recieved his injuries a few days earlier and that he might have appeared drunk in the last couple of days before his death. They said that people might have misinterpreted his behaviour and thought that he was drunk but in fact he had been suffering from his head injuries.

Liam Hill's inquest stated that he had an impact injury to the head beneath the hairline, an injury to the back of his head and multiple fractured ribs. He was also found to have bruising to his shoulder and chest and injuries to his genitalia. The coroner recorded a cause of death as being due to head and chest trauma and described his case as 'bizarre'.

The coroner said, 'Liam Hill suffered a number of injuries that are difficult to explain. I’ve been doing this job for 17 years and it’s a very difficult case to interpret. I don’t think the answer lies within the pathology. The pathology in this case is bizarre to say the least. My view at the time was that it should be looked at as potential murder until proved otherwise. If all injuries were due to a fall or multiple falls. I still have concerns. I haven’t been able to exclude an assault but I’m aware of the extensive police investigation that has turned up no suspects. I’m sorry there’s no easy answers in this case. It’s one of the most difficult cases I’ve dealt with really'.

It was also added at his inquest that Liam Hill had alcohol problems and had suffered from depression.

The police said, 'We have no doubt that Liam’s injuries were sustained as the result of a deliberate and sustained attack by one or more people. We are still trying to establish where he was attacked and by who'.

Liam Hill was last known to have gone to Corbett's Bookmakers on Bodfor Street in Rhyl on 6 January 2016 and then later to the Bar Bow pub on Water Street in Rhyl, after which he had walked home at about 6.45pm. It was thought that he was seen walking home along Water Street in the direction of West Parade then going off towards River Street at which time it was said that he had appeared drunk and the police appealed for anyone that had seen him on his way home from the pub.

The pub had been showing the League Cup semi-final return football match between Everton and Manchester at the time which Everton won 2-1.

The police later carried out a forensic examination of the Bar Bow pub.

Liam Hill was next seen by neighbours at the foot of the communal stairs at his flat at about 7pm at which time he appeared to be drunk and was assisted to his feet and up to his flat. He had told people that he had fallen into the stairwell there and it was heard that he had previosly fallen there, but the police said that they were unable to say where he had fallen.

He spoke to his mother on Thursday 7 January 2016 and told her that he had fallen evening before and hurt his shoulder. He was also seen in or near the Asher Indian Restaurant on 7 January in Rhyl near the police station at which time he had been seen wearing black denim jeans and a dark blue Columbia embossed jacket.

He spoke to his mother the following day, 8 January 2016 at about 9.30am and was later found dead at his flat by his mother at 1.45pm sitting in a chair. She said that when she spoke to him on the morning of 8 January 2016 that he had appeared confused and was not making any sense and had told her that he had injured his shoulder in a fall.

As well as identifying anyone that might have seen Liam Hill as he went home after visiting the Bar Bow pub on 6 January 2016, the police said that they were interested in speaking to anyone who knew how he had sustained his injuries.

The police said that he had recieived 'sustained significant head, upper and lower body injuries consistent with a sustained and deliberate attack' and that they were treating his death as murder.

The police operation investigating his death was called Operation Panatella. During their investigation into his death, the police collected more than 600 exhibits, called at over 300 properties and questioned 69 motorists and pedestrians and said that they were convinced that the key to solving the mystery lay within the local community.

The police said that their investigation into his death would never be closed. They said, 'We can’t dismiss that he may have been assaulted, but he may have died as a result of an accident, fall or a number of falls. The investigation is never closed. We have exhausted the investigation today but the appeal is still out there. It will always be open and reviewed periodically'.