Cause of Death - Episode Guide

In the early hours of the morning, two elderly men are found semi-conscious with head injuries in the middle of a darkened stretch of road in Leyland, Lancashire. Police escalate their transfer to Preston Royal Hospital, but one of the men's conditions worsens and he dies. The surviving man has no memory of events, so it is up to the coroner to establish what happened that night and determine the cause of death.  [Death Investigations: Frank Brimley, John Hutton]

A woman calls police worried there's water flowing out from her neighbor's front door and, when they enter the house, police find a fully clothed man dead in the bath. The coroner must coordinate with Lancashire Police as they investigate his death, trying to find out what happened, whether he was the victim of foul play and why he was fully clothed in the bath.   [Death Investigations: Andrew Milnes, Margaret Charnley] 

At 9.15 in the morning, a young man enters the water below a 20ft high bridge, and when passers-by pull him from the water, he's unconscious. He's declared dead on arrival at Royal Preston Hospital. Working alongside the police, the coroner and his team must determine what has happened. Did he mean to jump off the bridge? Has there been foul play? How did he die? An unvaccinated man is brought into Royal Preston's critical care unit, Covid-positive and deteriorating fast. After his untimely death, the coroner and his team must investigate what has happened. He had bought medicines online to protect him from Covid — have these contributed to his cause of death?   [Death Investigations: Jack (JJ) Harris, Anonymous]

Tragically, a young man has taken his own life, leaving his family with a myriad of unanswered questions. The coroner's team are charged with guiding them through the process, and it's the coroner's job to bring together all the information at the inquest. The question to answer is not why, but whether he intended to take his own life.

A Slovakian man in his forties collapses in the middle of a conversation while walking down the street. He was two weeks into a new job. The coroner's team must now not only coordinate enquiries to determine a cause of death, but also facilitate funeral arrangements and the repatriation of his remains. [Death Investigations: Michael Richards-Hargreaves, Robert Pavlov, John-Paul Buckland] 

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This time, Dr James Adeley and his team investigate the death of an elderly woman who was physically attacked in a care home.

Dr James Adeley and his team examine the death of 29-year-old Jozsef, who went missing and was found dead deep in local woods. A few days before his death, he was arrested following what the police describe as a domestic incident involving his girlfriend. Questions remain for his distraught sister whether this incident is directly related to his sudden death and while police investigate the circumstances surrounding his death, the coroner and his team establish the cause and how it happened.

A man is found dead on a sofa after falling asleep next to his son. As the coroner's team investigate, they discover he was involved in a road traffic accident eight months earlier that could link to his death. The officers also investigate whether an altercation in a car park played any part in the death of an elderly woman.

After a son dies suddenly at home, the coroner must quickly investigate before releasing him for his burial. Does a history of a rare illness in the family hold the key to his death?

A 26-year-old man is rushed to hospital following seizures, and later dies, the Coroner instructs his team to investigate. And a 50-year-old man collapses at work after feeling unwell and dizzy, and subsequently dies. The Coroner's officer sets to work to try and unravel whether a covid booster vaccination he had received a month earlier could have contributed to his death.

Lancashire Senior Coroner Dr Adeley investigates the sudden death of a 52-year-old mum, who may have died due to an inherited condition. Upon receiving news of Irene Wright's death, a past member of the team, her former colleagues attempt to discover what caused her death.

In this episode: Jake is in his twenties and seemingly has everything to live for. But he's found dead at home after a night out. With his family reeling and his girlfriend in shock the search begins for answers to the mystery. Dr Adeley and his team must determine if anything suspicious is at play. In an emotional investigation the story peels back the layers of what lies behind Jake's tragic and unexpected death.

Also in this edition, police are called to the house of an elderly man who has been found dead without explanation. After he's transported to Blackburn mortuary, it's up to the Coroner and his team to unravel this medical mystery. Has the man's historic exposure to asbestos contributed to his death?

A young Mum dies after attending a local dance music festival. After it's established she has taken ecstasy, the team must investigate whether the drug was the primary cause of her death or if other factors played a significant role. With her family devastated and her partner trying to cope with what has happened, the investigation throws up serious questions about the provision of water at the festival and whether that had any part to play in this unexplained death. The coroner calls upon Dr Mark Clayton as an expert witness to broaden the inquiry.

Also in this edition, a man is found in his flat having been dead for a considerable time. With no immediate identification available, and no clues to family of friends the team must conduct advanced fingerprint and DNA testing to confirm the identity of the deceased, as well as determine how he died.

Paramedics are called to the home of an elderly couple, only to find the wife dead on a stairlift and the husband severely injured at the bottom of the stairs. Also, when a fit and active 83-year-old doesn't turn up for work, he is later found fighting for life, collapsed in his bathroom.

A man in his 30's is found deceased in a friend's flat, while the police launch a Facebook appeal to confirm his identity and trace his next of kin, staff in the mortuary investigate the circumstances that lead to his death. An elderly man is readmitted to hospital, where he dies, Dr Adeley and the team must thoroughly explore all possibilities to determine his exact cause of death.

Police and paramedics are called to a death at temporary accommodation in Blackburn. A 39-year-old woman has been found deceased in a bath full of very hot water. The coroner, pathologist and the team set to work to establish the cause of death, but Lancashire Police must first investigate to rule out foul play. Plus, a badly decomposed body found at a home in Burnley after neighbours reported not seeing a man for three weeks.

When a 34-year-old is found at home unconscious after suffering heart palpitations, her sister immediately calls an ambulance, but sadly the paramedics declare her deceased at the scene. Lancashire Coroner Dr James Adelely and his team try to determine the cause, investigating if her neurofibromatosis was a factor. Plus, Lancashire Police look into the death of a man found collapsed in his flat.

Sixty-three--year-old Raymond Rahamatally is found deceased with a severe wound to his hip and cuts and abrasions on his hands. With no sign of criminal involvement, it is down to Lancashire Coroner's officers to try and ascertain the cause of death. A history of heart disease in the family could provide a clue, but he also suffered terrible injuries to his legs from a medical condition. Plus, a dramatic 999 call leads to a body in an outbuilding.

Lancashire Police investigate when the body of a man is found in a field. The circumstances are mysterious, part of his ear is missing, and he is discovered laid on top of his wellington boots. Senior Coroner Dr James Adeley orders a home office post-mortem to help investigate the case. And DI Paul Price must try to establish who the man is and how he died. But identifying him at all proves a huge challenge. In Preston, the coroner's team examine the case of a young woman found collapsed at home. They need to find out whether she could have deliberately harmed herself or suffered a terrible accident.

A homeless man is found dead in his temporary accommodation in Blackburn, but the circumstances are not as straightforward as they seem. Investigations by the Lancashire coroner's team, reveal that he not only checked himself out of hospital hours earlier, but he had previously been the victim of a nasty assault. The Coroner's team must investigate whether this attack could have contributed to his death. Meanwhile in Preston, paramedics are called to the flat of a young woman who has been found dead after complaining of a bad chest. Are the two things related?

A man is found dead in the water while on holiday in Egypt with his wife. After his embalmed body is repatriated, Dr Adeley and his team must establish the facts and decipher whether snorkeling could be the cause of his death. Home office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers, with an interest in diving, investigates the case. A recovering alcoholic in her early fifties is found dead at home. To uncover the truth behind her sudden death, Dr. Adeley and his team must conduct an invasive post-mortem examination.

A special edition following senior coroner Dr James Adeley as he investigates the deaths of four pedestrians in road traffic collisions. They were all killed in very similar circumstances, but the grieving families all feel that these events can't just be coincidence. As the inquiry continues, it becomes clear that the deaths were the result of drivers still on the roads with dangerously defective eyesight.