Suspect in ‘Putney pusher’ case was found dead after missing family meal, inquest hears

The man who was arrested on suspicion of being the so-called “Putney pusher” was found dead at his home after missing a family meal, an inquest has heard.Nicholas Brandram, 44, was arrested in June in connection with an incident on Putney Bridge on 5 May 2017 in which a jogger shoved a woman headfirst into the path of an oncoming bus.The former banker was found unresponsive inside his home in Chiswick, west London, on 15 September.Melanie Lee, the area coroner, opened and suspended an inquest into his death at west London coroner’s court on Tuesday afternoon.Opening the proceedings, she said: “On the evening of Tuesday 15 September 2026, Nicholas did not attend a family meal as planned.“His brother-in-law attended Nicholas’s home address and gained access using a spare key provided by a neighbour. Upon searching the house, he found Nicholas in an upstairs room.“Paramedics attended and despite resuscitation, he was pronounced deceased at 8.58pm.”The coroner said the death was not considered suspicious and there was “no evidence of third-party involvement”.Lee said provisional results from a postmortem examination indicated his death was “due to ligature compression of the neck”.The Metropolitan police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its contact with Brandram, who was released under investigation after his arrest.The force said on 17 September that its investigation into the Putney Bridge incident remained ongoing after Brandram’s death.Lee said on Tuesday: “I have been informed this afternoon that a referral has been made to the IOPC. On that basis, I am suspending the inquest.”The coroner added that an inquest was not a trial and “nobody and no organisation is on trial”.Brandram’s sisters, who were present at the inquest opening, have previously accused police of failing him and wider society.The coroner told the family: “I offer my sincere condolences for your loss. I appreciate today will not be an easy day for you.”The family have said they believe Brandram took his own life after “months of immense pressure” caused by the Met’s investigation.In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Brandram’s sisters Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker said he did not match the description of the attacker.Hicks said there had been “urgency” by the Met to arrest Brandram and to have that reported in the press. “I think he couldn’t understand why there wasn’t urgency to help clear his name,” she added.