Police re-open drugs death inquiry

The new Sussex police chief reopened the inquiry

Police in Sussex are to look again into the death of a 20-year-old man, whose parents claim he was murdered with a lethal dose of painkillers.

The force has re-opened their inquiry into the death of Nathan Vidler, in 1998, admitting the case should have been more thoroughly investigated.

Police dropped their inquiry into the death when a coroner concluded that Mr Vidler, from Eastbourne, died from an overdose of non-dependent drugs.

The reopening was ordered by the new Chief Constable of Sussex Police, Ken Jones, who replaced Paul Whitehouse following his resignation over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in 1998.

'New approach'

Detective Inspector Sally Simmonds said the force had changed its approach to drug related deaths.

she said: "It was more usual four years ago for deaths that appeared to be related to drugs overdoses to be investigated by the coroner's court.

"We have learned a lot about drug-related deaths since then.

"The purpose of this re-investigation is to bring to bear these new approaches so that we can help answer more of the family's questions about Nathan's death."

She said that officers were treating the death as suspicious but that the investigation could become a murder inquiry.

'Robbery plan'

However, Mr Vidler's parents said they had been forced to become detectives themselves and criticised the former chief constable for not following up their concerns.

Mr Vidler was found dead at a social services hostel in Pevensey Road, in Eastbourne.

His father Steve Vidler said: "Our son was not into drugs at all.

"We are suggesting that the drugs were put into his body."

Mr Vidler said he felt someone had drugged his son to gain information about the garage in Eastbourne where he worked, to plan a robbery.

The garage had been robbed four months later, he said.