Storrington death no longer being treated as suspicious

The sudden death of a man in Storrington is no longer being treated as suspicious.

Officers responded to a report of a man unconscious in High Street shortly after 10am on Sunday (September 4). Sadly, the 49-year-old man was pronounced deceased.

A Forensic Post-Mortem Examination was conducted on Wednesday (September 7) at Worthing Hospital and while the cause of death is still under investigation, detectives were able to ascertain that the man had not died as the result of the actions of another person.

As a result, the 78-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday has been released from bail and is no longer a suspect in connection with this tragic incident.

Sussex Police has a duty to protect the public and will always rigorously investigate the circumstances of deaths that could possibly be caused by others. We do this to keep our communities safe and to ensure that potential serious crime is thoroughly investigated.

DCI Andy Wolstenholme of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “Understandably this tragic incident shocked the village of Storrington, and left a family with a most terrible loss; we are sorry for this tragedy and our thoughts are with the family and friends as we continue to support them in understanding what happened to their loved one.  

“Based on the evidence that we were presented with on Sunday, it was necessary to make an arrest and investigate further. My team worked swiftly and effectively to gather evidence quickly, and we have today been able to eliminate the arrested man from our enquiry as we are sure that he played no part in the sad death of the individual.

“While the actual cause of death is still under investigation, we are able to reassure the community that no third party was involved in this sad death.

"I am thankful to the residents of Storrington for the respect they showed to the deceased man while the area was cordoned off by police, to those who responded to the witness appeal, and to the local business who provided iced water to our team on a hot day.”    

Police will continue to probe the circumstances of this death on behalf of HM Coroner.