Student, 20, is found dead in his halls at Coventry University

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Student, 20, is found dead in his halls at Coventry University as police say tragedy is not suspicious

By Mark Duell for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

A 20-year-old Coventry University student has been found dead in a halls of residence.

West Midlands Police said the student was found dead in the Bishop Gate halls in the city centre last Friday, and detectives were treating the death as non-suspicious.

The man is at least the eighth student to have died since Britain’s universities returned last month following the coronavirus lockdown. 

The Coventry student was found dead in the Bishop Gate halls of residence (file picture)

A Coventry University spokesman said: ‘We are saddened by the death of one of our students.

‘Our thoughts are with their family and friends at this awful time and we are offering all the support we can to the family.

How at least eight students have died since UK universities returned last month

  • September 25: Police find body of University of Bath student Martin Bowers, 20, in the River Avon, after he went missing six days earlier in Bristol
  • September 30: Police find body of University of Bath student Alec Unsgaard who had been missing for 12 days after vanishing while out celebrating his 21st birthday
  • October 3: Jeni Larmour, 18, is found dead at the Richardson Road halls at Newcastle University after allegedly taking ketamine
  • October 4: A Northumbria University student aged 21, who has not been named, is taken ill at his halls in Newcastle after allegedly taking MDMA and later dies in hospital
  • October 4: A second Newcastle University student aged 18, who has not been named, is found dead at the Richardson Road halls after also allegedly taking ketamine
  • October 8: University of Manchester student Finn Kitson, 19, is found dead at the university’s Fallowfield halls of residence
  • October 15: Nottingham Trent University student Hope Starsmore, 20, dies eight days after a car crash in Burgh Le Marsh, Lincolnshire
  • October 16: Coventry University student aged 20 is found dead in the Bishop Gate halls of residence

‘We have a full range of mental health support services available for students and colleagues affected by this tragic news. We ask that the family’s privacy be respected.’

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: ‘We were called to the student accommodation on October 16 where the body of a man in his 20s was found.

‘His death is not being treated as suspicious and has been referred to the coroner.’

Bishop Gate is a university-owned halls which opened in 2018 and provides 725 ensuites and studios in flats of nine and ten rooms, costing up to £199 per week. 

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