Investigation and inquest
I have commenced an investigation into the death of Alexander Cardoza. The investigation has not yet been concluded.
Circumstances of the death
On the evidence currently available to me, I understand that Alexander Cardoza, a child aged 16 years, died on the 27th March 2025, after falling from ████████ in the City of London. The ████████ is owned and operated by ████████. ████████ is owned by ████████ and operated and managed by ████████.
Coroner’s concerns
1. On the 10th December 2024, I concluded the inquest into the death of ████████ and found that he died on ████████ after jumping from ████████.
2. Despite the subsequent structural and operational changes I was told about at the inquest, Alexander Cardoza was able to and did climb over ████████ and fall to his death on the 27th March 2025.
3. It seems that no or no sufficient action has been taken to prevent persons being able to fall from ████████ and that there is an ongoing risk of further deaths. The ongoing risk is exacerbated by the fact that there have now been two deaths in similar circumstances, thereby increasing the risk of others copying.
4. I am particularly concerned that, despite previous knowledge of the risks,
(i) the barriers in place ████████ remain surmountable, (ii) the barriers include horizontal metal wiring which, it appears, may assist the surmounting of the barrier, (iii) the ████████ can be moved and can be used to assist a person to surmount the barriers, (iv) the nature and level of operational security in place on the 27th March 2025 was insufficient to prevent Alexander Cardoza from surmounting the barrier and falling, and (v) there is no CCTV security camera monitoring of ████████ in place.