Man suspected of Oxford 'murder' killed in M25 crash

A coroner was told Miles Benfield, who later died in a car crash on the M25 in Surrey on May 26, admitted striking 65-year-old Conrad Welch around the head causing him to fall to the ground.

However, at the time he said he struck him in self-defence, an inquest held at Oxford Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday morning. 

The one punch sparked a series of medical events including a fractured spine which led to Mr Welch's death.

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Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said that there was a "causal connection" between the assault on Mr Welch and his death.

Conrad Welch

The coroner heard that the chief suspect in the attack on Mr Welch was Benfield but he had been riding a motorcycle when he crashed and died later in hospital.

The coroner was told that Benfield, 20, struck Mr Welch on June 11, 2021 after an extended confrontation between Mr Welch and a group of youths.

Mr Welch died in hospital on June 19, 2021 - eight days after he was knocked to the ground by Mr Benfield on a night out to celebrate his 65th birthday.

The "loving" father died after blood clots formed around his lungs.

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Coroner Mr Salter concluded that Mr Welch's death was caused by pulmonary thrombo-embolism due to central cord syndrome as a result of traumatic rupture of the inter-vertebral discs of the cervical spine.

The injuries were the result of the impact of the punch to his head which left him unconscious and he fell to the ground.

Speaking to the families of Mr Welch's and Mr Benfield at the inquest in Oxford, Mr Salter revealed his findings.

He said: "Conrad Welch had been out drinking and celebrating his birthday in Oxford on June 11, 2021.

"He was intoxicated with alcohol and had been involved in a verbal confrontation with four young men.

"Mr Welch was walking close to this group on Ship Street in Oxford at approximately 10.50pm when one of group struck him with a single blow, using a hand to the head, resulting in Mr Welch falling unconscious and striking his head on the ground.

"Mr Welch sustained a spinal injury but declined surgery. He was treated but died of pulmonary thrombo-emobolism likely due to immobility caused by the spinal injury."

Mr Salter concluded in a narrative verdict that there was a causal connection between Benfield striking of Mr Welch's face and his eventual death.

He said: "The assault appears to be a spontaneous event and a single blow but one that led to the circumstances and cause of death outlined.

"There is a causal connection between the blow and primary cause of death."

The inquest heard the dispute with the group of men and Mr Welch unravelled, with Mr Welch being struck by Benfield using an open palm on the right-side of his face, just behind his ear.

A post-mortem examination from June 25, 2021 at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington found a laceration and an abrasion on the right side of Mr Welch's face.

Bruising and deep bruising was found on the left side of Mr Welch's forehead.

Brett Lockyer, a forensic pathologist, told the coroner that it was likely that the deep bruises contributed to Mr Welch's collapse.

The pathologist also concluded that Mr Welch had pulmonary thrombo-embolism blood clots on the lungs and blood clots in the legs.

These were determined as the ultimate cause for Mr Welch's death.

Mr Lockyer produced two reports highlighting a traumatic rupture of the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine and a fracture of the C4 vertebra in the neck area of the spine.

The pathologist said that this fracture arose from the impact from Benfield, rather than the fall onto the pavement afterwards.

Mr Lockyer also stated that Mr Welch's decision to refuse spinal decompression surgery after the incident increased his risk of developing of a pulmonary thromboembolism.

On the balance of probabilities, there was "good evidence of a causal link between the alleged assault and Mr Welch's death," he said.

The inquest also heard that on the night of June 11, 2021, Mr Welch, who was intoxicated and unsteady, got on a bus heading to Chipping Norton before being told to get off by a bus driver as he was "goading other passengers" and needed to head back into Oxford to get home.

Upon entering a second bus back into Oxford at 9.54pm, the bus driver noted that Mr Welch was "usually as quiet as a mouse and there had been no previous incidents or trouble."

A witness on the bus noted Mr Welch picking on three girls and a separate group of two males.

The witness heard Mr Welch, of Bullingdon Road, Oxford, saying to the men: "My name is Conrad and I'll punch you in a minute."

One of the boys replied: "For God's sake, just calm down."

The witness, who had seen Mr Welch on previous bus trips, said in a statement that there was a huge difference between his normal behaviour and his behaviour that night.

Detective Inspector Mike Roddy, from Thames Valley Police and was the leading investigator into Mr Welch's death, described how the two men and Mr Welch got off the bus before the men met up with Benfield and another friend.

There was an exchange of words between Mr Welch and group on Ship Street with Mr Welch saying "who do you think you are?".

A witness, who had left the No. 1 Ship Street restaurant and saw a group of five people walking in his direction, said in a written statement to the inquest: "Suddenly the guy in the middle turned and gave a loaded slap to the smaller man behind him. It was a thick slap sound.

"(Mr Welch) had his arms by side and was completely unprepared for it. His body stiffened.

"The victim fell straight to the ground without making any attempts to break his fall. There was a cut above his eye and a lot of blood on the floor around him."

A video showing Mr Welch being assaulted by Benfield, was filmed by another member of the group and was circulated on a Snapchat group after the assault.

In a statement to police before his fatal accident, Benfield claimed that Mr Welch, who was a respected cleaner and caretaker at the easyHotel in Summertown had been grabbing his arms and hips and he acted in self-defence.

Benfield said that he "did not intend any serious harm".

Four men were initially arrested on suspicion of murder, all aged in their teens or early 20s and all from Oxfordshire.

They were all released on police bail. Of the four, three were released without charge in January of this year.