Michael James Reynolds

Michael James Reynolds was found injured in the road at Chalfont St Peter on the night of 26 April 1962.

He was taken to Amersham Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

He had lived in Shephard's Bush but had been a former patient at Chalfont Epileptic Colony and had been there for a visit.

The night attendant at the colony said that when Michael Reynolds left at 9.30pm to catch a bus that he appeared to be quite well.

The pathologist that carried out the post mortem said that Michael Reynolds had been healthy and that there were no signs of disease. Describing his severe head injuries, he said, 'I thought they were consistent with having been struck by some kind of blunt instrument. I found very little else. There were no injuries to the body, which puzzled me. One theory is that, if he was struck while standing up, he could have been leaning forward so that his head was ahead of his body.

When the Coroner at the inquest addressed the jury, he said, 'The question is, how did he come by his injuries? A most likely theory seems to be that he was struck while crossing the road by some fast-moving vehicle, or, possibly, he stumbled into the path of a car. But of course, all this is guesswork'.

The jury then returned an open verdict.

His death was described as a road death mystery.