Azoulas Zygelis

Unsolved Murders

Age: 15

Sex: male

Date: 1 Nov 2021

Place: Wivenhoe Road, Barking

Azoulas Zygelis was found dead in a shallow drainage channel near Wivenhoe Road, Barking.

He was found without any identification, phone or wallet on him.

There was no signs of a struggle or fight to get out of the stream.

He was last seen in Newlands Park at 6pm on 1 November 2021 when he had been with three friends. He ad left the park via the Roxwell Road exit and was not seen again.

It wasn't known why he had left his friends.

He was found dead in the stream near Wivenhoe Road, Barking, two days later on 3 November 2021. When he was found he had not personal belongings on him, including his identification, phone and wallet.

However, his post mortem examination failed to find any clear traumatic cause of death.

He had left his home at at 5.30pm to got to the park to see his friends. When he had left home he had only taken a small amount of cash along with his mothers bank card, phone, house keys and his ear phones. As such, it was noted that there was no indication that he had planned to leave home.

His mother called th epolice at 3.31am on 1 November 2021 to report him missing.

The police determined that he had taken a bus at shortly after 5.30pm and had been using his phone on the journey and had got off at Glenmore Way at 5.50pm and gone into the park through a small alley. It was heard that he had then met his friends and that shortly after they had left the park via Roxwell Park and then separated.

His friends said:

at some point Azoulas mumbled that he was going to check on something.

However, it wasn't know what that was in reference to.

he was thought to have been seen in grainy CCTV footage shortly after crossing Stebbing Way and going into Wivenhoe Road.

The location he was found at was near some train tracks and an industrial site.

It was noted at his inquest that when the police were called out to the scene they shortly after removed his body from the secene, however, it was noted that destroyed any immediate evidence that that, on the grounds that it was clear that he was dead, that it would have been better to have left him there and preserve the crime scene. It was also noted that whilst the preservation of life was a priority, based on the fact that it was clear he was dead, that the next priority would have been to preserve the crime scene.

A detectived said:

Forensics weren't disregarded, I guess they just came secondary in this case.

However, he noted that after the body was removed that a crime scene cordon was put in place.

Hi post moretem examination, which failed to find any evidence of traumatic injury, concluded that his cause of death was consistent with immersion in water and drowning.

It was also noted that it was found that when Azoulas Zygelis had been in the park with his friends that they had had a vaping device with them that had contained THC, an abbreviation for tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis. However, the Coroner said that the suggestion of cannabis was unproven. He said:

We know that three of Azoulas' contemporaries were spoken to by the police and provided statements of his movements and that incorporated a discussion about the use of vape, a smoking device. One of the witnesses indicated that the vape that was being used at Newlands Park that was being shared by the boys contained a substance that in itself contained THC. What was suggested to the police in the investigation was that one of the younger persons who had bought this vape containing the THC oil was passed to Azoulas who wanted to try it, and he did indeed try it. Unusually however, the toxicology report did not corroborate that he had THC in his system when he died. It is not expelled from the body very quickly and can be detected in the body for a number of days after use.

The polic enoted that they had reports that one man had admitted that he was resopsible for Azoulas Zygelis's death. however, when the police said the man he made no admission or acceptance of being involved and a search of his home found no evidence that he had been involved.

The police said that they were later informed that another man had bragged about Azoulas Zygelis's death. However, the allegation was similarly investigated and no evidence was found to support that was found.

It was also heard that another lead came though CrimeStoppers, but that that also was found to have evidence was found to have no bearing in any criminal enquiries.

The Coroner noted:

The police were left in a very difficult position for a criminal investigation. A criminal investigation has to be based on evidence, not on hunches or suspicions. You can't rely on superstition or rumour, you have to provide clear evidence of a theory for someone's death but fundamentally, despite the wide ranging inquiry, there was no evidence as to how Azoulas came to be in that location or how it was that his death came about.

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