Case shrouded in mystery

DAVID LYTTON

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MYSTERY continues to surround the reasons why the man on the moors took rat poison before being found dead at Dovestone.

David Lytton (67) was hundreds of miles from his London home when his body was discovered on Saddleworth Moor.

Police lines of enquiry took them as far as Australia in their search to identify the former London Underground tube driver who is believed to have been living in Pakistan for 10 years.

A senior coroner recorded an open verdict at an inquest into his death held at Heywood Coroner's Court yesterday.

Family members, friends and officers have been unable to find any link between Mr Lytton and the Oldham or Saddleworth area.

His only brother Jeremy Lawton (64) said: "I have no idea why he chose the location. David was an individual and I think he just wanted to go up there because he could travel anywhere he wanted to - just go somewhere very English.

"He was a man unencumbered by possessions and in a way I really admire that. When I learned he had nothing on him I was not surprised ­- he was a mid-20th century man."

According to his brother, Mr Lytton was a very private man who would have loathed the global attention his death has received.

The inquest heard how Mr Lytton served five days in a Pakistani jail in 2008 after outstaying his visa and was "desperate" to leave Pakistan in the days leading up to his death.

He travelled 4,000 miles from his adopted home in Lahore to London Heathrow on Thursday, December 10, 2015.

On his arrival he booked five days in a Travelodge in Uxbridge Road, Ealing, then paid for a return train ticket to Manchester.

He asked the landlord of The Clarence pub in Chew Valley Road, Greenfield, the way to "the top of the mountain" but only made it one mile beyond the boat house at the lower reservoir.

His body was found on a remote track close to the summit of Indian's Head on Saturday, December 12.

North Manchester senior coroner Simon Nelson said: "He was found dead having ingested an excessive amount of Strychnine.

"There is no way in which I could be absolutely sure of his intention when he embarked on his fateful journey."

However, the coroner was satisfied he had taken the poison "by his own hand."

Mr Lytton was found with 2.1mg of Strychnine per one litre of blood in his body. An empty bottle containing traces of Strychnine was found on his person along with £130 in cash and three train tickets.

No ID was found and his fingerprints were not stored on the national database leading to an extensive search. Despite a mass media appeal he was only identified in January, 2017.

Detective Sergeant John Coleman, of Oldham CID, said: "It has been a unique and challenging investigation. It is amazing how he has managed to travel from Pakistan over here and apparently nobody has missed him, nobody has seen him, nobody has had phone calls from him ­- it is quite amazing really."

The inquest heard how Mr Lytton had been in a relationship with Maureen Toogood for more than 30 years but had not even told her he was moving to Pakistan in 2006. Another friend Salim Akhtar did not know she existed.

Mr Akhtar described his friend as "very intelligent", "a bit of a loner" and a "minimalist."

Mr Lawton said: "I absolutely adored David.

"There was a big argument ­- just a family row ­- but we could never understand why he never came back."

He described his brother as a "genius" who was "quite disappointed" when he got into Leeds University and not Oxbridge.

Coroner Mr Nelson said in his conclusion: "This has been an extraordinary case with many fundamental questions which remain unanswered.

"There is absolutely no evidence to suggest any third-party involvement or any criminally suspicious circumstances.

"The only appropriate conclusion I can reach, and it is with some regret, is that of an open conclusion."