WHEN the heartbroken family of Paul Pengelly were told he had been found dead in the River Thames, retracing his final steps threw open a Pandora’s Box of troubling questions.
What were the mysterious marks found on his hand? How could his phone transmit a signal for hours after the time he was supposed to have died? And why were cops ignoring their desperate pleas to reexamine the case?
Paul was found in the water by the Founder’s Arms pub on London‘s Southbank in the early morning of November 30, 2023, and within hours police declared the incident was non-suspicious – despite multiple clues appearing to suggest otherwise.
The 37-year-old’s mum and dad, Keith and Geraldine, and sister Gemma spoke to The Sun about their desperate efforts to persuade the Met to re-open the case, and have even launched their own investigation.
They say there are discrepancies in the timeline offered by the force, which relies heavily on CCTV footage of a man believed to be dad-of-two Paul, which they’ve been told has since been wiped.
Mortuary photos, seen by The Sun, also show Paul had suffered heavy bruising down one side of his face – as well as marks on his hand that his loved ones are convinced were caused by a Taser.
A coroner, independently approached by the Pengellys following the official inquest, which reached an open verdict, compiled a report that concluded the police “failed” to consider a number of key aspects “before they ended their investigation”.
These included not first identifying the deceased, seeking witness accounts and properly seizing CCTV evidence.
Keith, 68, said: “In our eyes it is suspicious. We know our son – what we’ve got here is not a cold case, we’ve got a frozen case.
“We’ve got no forensics, no witness reports – we’ve got nothing. We just thought there’d be more help. Literally we were met with a brick wall.”
He added: “They deemed my son’s death to be unsuspicious without even knowing who the hell he was or how he got there – without knowing anything.
“You should always be suspicious until proven otherwise… it’s ridiculous.”
He added: “All we want is a proper investigation into what happened to Paul so we can get some closure.”
Keith speculated his son may have come across police officers or drug dealers while drunk, and that there had possibly been a physical confrontation that went wrong.
“The marks on his hands certainly look like Taser marks,” said Keith.
He went on to say: “If there’s no police involvement, I know there’s drug dealers who probably carry these little stun guns as well, and they might have tried to take his watch.
“My son is someone who’d take on three guys if needs be. He’s not one to be frightened of anyone. He won’t be bullied.”
Keith said Paul was right-handed and the marks were on his right hand, possibly suggesting he’d tried to defend himself “and got stung”, adding: “He had a lump on his head, as well.”
The family have also not been presented with any evidence showing where Paul entered the water.
Keith said: “Did he die there (at the Founder’s Arms) or get conveniently placed there when the tide was going out?”
They were told he was found by a dog walker, but have never learned any further details about the person – and weren’t informed of the discovery until the evening.
Meanwhile, after getting hold of his phone records themselves, the Pengellys found it was still pinging to a signal tower hours after cops allegedly claim he’d died, despite iPhones generally quickly dying within minutes when submerged in deep water.
There is further mystery around why Paul left the Plaza Hotel in Westminster, where his employer Barchester Healthcare were hosting a party, and was wandering near the river in the early hours, despite having a room booked.
Paul’s family say they were told by police they received reports from an unidentified member of the public at 9.23am on October 30, 2023 – the morning after the party.
His body was spotted in the water against an old pier opposite the pub near Blackfriars Bridge.
He had been wearing a green velvet jacket to the awards do the night before – but when cops pulled him from the river the jacket and shoes were gone, as were his phone and wallet – the latter of which was later picked up.
Paul’s family weren’t officially informed he’d died until around 10pm – and say they understand by then police had already ruled his death unsuspicious, deeming him to have accidentally fallen or jumped into the water.
They say he had not been suicidal, and doted on his two young daughters.
Mum Geraldine, 67, was called by one of Paul’s colleagues at around 3.30pm, who told her he had not checked out of his hotel room or appeared for breakfast.
He wasn’t answering his phone, and so Geraldine called his best pal JJ and sister Gemma, but when neither had heard from him, Keith drove down to Sudbury train station in Suffolk, near to Paul’s home.
His car was still there in the carpark, with a penalty notice pinned to the windscreen.
“That’s when it all kicked off,” said Paul.
“We were handed his clothes during a meeting with a copper at Stratford shopping centre – it was all in a bag.
“We identified there was blood and lipstick on his shirt but they didn’t want to know.”
The family pestered Vodafone for Paul’s phone records and nine months later eventually got them – finding, they claim, the device was still active at 6.31am.
That’s despite police telling them a man who appeared to be Paul was spotted on CCTV footage at County Hall throwing what appeared to be a phone into the river at 3.39am.
They later learned iPhones can only survive in water under a depth of around seven metres for 30 minutes – yet three hours later the signal was still pinging.
Keith says this surely proves the phone was not in the water at the time police believe, and should have led to them searching his phone records themselves at the very least.
The dad said Paul made a 30-second WhatsApp call four minutes after initially leaving the hotel at just before 3.30am while heading in a straight line to Westminster Bridge, towards Big Ben.
He then turned 180 degrees around and headed towards the London Eye.
“It’s as if someone had said to him ‘you’re going the wrong way’,” said Keith.
Timeline of Paul Pengelly’s movements before his death
Dad-of-two Paul Pengelly, 37, was found dead in the River Thames at The Founder’s Arms on London’s Southbank on November 30, 2023. These are his last known movements, according to his family:
Paul was attending an awards event hosted by his employer Barchester at The Plaza Hotel in Westminster on the evening of November 29.
November 30
2.30am: He left a colleague’s hotel room, where he’d continued drinking – and parted company with another work mate near his room on the ninth floor shortly after.
3.28am: He was picked up on CCTV leaving the hotel.
3.34am: He had a 30-second WhatsApp call as he headed across Westminster Bridge before turning 180 degrees and walking towards the London Eye.
3.39am: Cops said CCTV footage showed a man they thought was Paul throwing what appeared to be a phone into the river.
6.31am: His family say Vodafone records show his phone – which has never been recovered – was still active at 6.31am, suggesting it didn’t go into the river.
9.23am: Paul’s body was found by a dogwalker in the water bobbing near The Founder’s Arms pub.
3.30pm: Paul’s mum Geraldine is called by one of her son’s colleagues asking if she’d heard from him as he appeared to be missing.
10pm: Cops officially inform the family Paul’s body had been found that morning.
“Whether Paul was trying to get illicit drugs, cocaine, I don’t know – or was meeting someone from a dating app… we can’t trace the call because it’s encrypted,” Keith said.
“He’s then headed towards the London Eye, gone that way, apparently, from what the police said.
“Now we don’t know for sure because we were never given the opportunity to view any CCTV images.
“Literally, they then said he went as if towards Belvedere Road, turned around, appeared to throw something into the river. They assumed it was the phone, obviously it was not.”
The family have been told by work colleagues that Paul was “intoxicated” and witness statements collected from those at the party suggest he had been upset by comments made to him earlier in the night and had to be consoled.
After the do was over, Paul had joined several other workmates in a colleague’s hotel room before leaving at 2.30am to go to bed.
After he and another work pal reached the ninth floor they went their separate ways in the corridor to their own rooms.
However, Keith said there is reason to believe Paul had picked up the wrong card key and couldn’t gain access into his room.
It is unclear what happened for 45 minutes, but it’s understood he was picked up on CCTV outside the hotel at 3.28am.
‘He wouldn’t do water’
The family have trekked up and down the route he took and have spoken to every street vendor and security guard they could.
They also tried to collect their own CCTV footage, but were told it either pointed the wrong way or had been wiped after a certain amount of time.
Cops told them Paul passed a group of security guards – though say they were never interviewed, while a cyclist also spotted him before he ended up in the river.
Keith said: “If he was going to top himself, he wouldn’t do water. My son hated water.
“He’d leave a note, he had two young daughters and he adored them.
“He was such a perfect parent for them. The only other thing is maybe misadventure. The coroner said it is rare to give an open verdict.”
Keith said it’s unclear where he went into the water.
“We don’t know if he went in at the London Eye, the tide was high and it was a very cold evening,” he continued.
The family have also consulted experts who told them if a body goes into the Thames “it doesn’t let go of you for two or three weeks – it drags you down to the bottom before the body bloats and eventually floats up”, Keith said.
He added: “How has he then washed up so quickly against the piers near the Founder’s Arms? Or did he die there or get conveniently place there when the tide was going out?
“Did he still have his phone on him when he died – possibly at 6.30am? I don’t know.”
Keith submitted a complaint to the police over the investigation into Paul’s death, describing it as “inadequate” and “prematurely” classified.
But he was told by Inspector Matt Hume: “I have considered all of the material gathered and consider that the service provided was acceptable.”
He added: “Let me express my sincere condolences to you on the passing of your son in such tragic circumstances.
“I do not underestimate the trauma and grief you must have experienced.”
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at 09:31hrs on Thursday, 30 November 2023 following a man being seen in the River Thames.
“Officers attended with the London Ambulance Service and sadly the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“He was identified as 37-year-old Paul Pengelly. Paul’s family were made aware and our thoughts have remained with them throughout this.
“Paul’s death was reviewed by detectives and treated as unexpected, but not deemed to be suspicious.
“Officers found no evidence of third-party involvement, this was supported by a review of CCTV from the area.
“A file was passed to the independent coroner, who was supportive of the evidence provided by officers and identified no concerns with the police investigation.
“We can confirm that we received a complaint in March regarding the handling of this investigation.
“This has been reviewed by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards. Following an appeal, this is under review by the relevant review body.”
A Barchester spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss, and our heartfelt sympathies go out to Paul’s family, friends, and all who knew him.
“This has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone affected. We want to acknowledge that Paul was not at work when the incident occurred, which means our ability to comment is limited. We understand how hard this makes things for his loved ones.
“Throughout this process, we have done and continue to do everything we can to support the family and to assist the relevant authorities.
“We are in touch with Paul’s family and remain committed to helping and supporting them in any way we can going forward.
“We will always remember Paul with great fondness and respect, and our thoughts remain with his family.”
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