A man has died after accidentally stabbing himself while trying to split frozen burgers with a knife.
Barry Griffiths, 57, died in his flat in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales, after knifing himself in the stomach in July last year when preparing the meal. As if that wasn’t tragic enough, Barry lived alone and his body wasn’t discovered until 4 days later.
With restricted use of one arm following a stroke, Barry lived alone in a supported living accommodation. He was eventually found lying fully clothed in bed with a stab would to his stomach and a trail of blood through the kitchen, hallway, bathroom and bedroom.
During the inquest at Pontypridd coroner’s court this week, Detective Chief Inspector Jonathan Rees explained:
“My thought process favoured the wound had been caused by an accident solely involving Mr Griffiths.
“The bottom drawer of the freezer had been left open and pulled forward in a position to access food items. On the work surface in the kitchen adjacent to the fridge freezer were two uncooked burgers, a knife and a tea towel.
“The wound to the abdomen would have been approximately the height of the work surface. My hypothesis at that stage was that Mr Griffiths was attempting to separate frozen burgers using a knife.”
Awful. As well as living alone, Barry was apparently a bit of a lone wolf and so that could explain why no one raised the alarm until 4 days later when staff at the building went to investigate. What I don’t get is – why didn’t Barry call for help? There was a trail of blood around the flat and he eventually passed away in bed; surely there was enough time to pick up the phone and dial 999, or call out to his neighbours, or anyone else?
Well, I suppose that doesn’t matter now. It does serve as an important reminder to the rest of us though, as I’m sure we’ve all had a few near-misses when it comes to separating frozen food in the kitcen. With restricted use of his arm because of a stroke, it would have been even trickier for Barry to successfully split the burgers without causing himself some damage. It’s really best to just defrost the food, or stick it in a bag which you can then throw on the ground.
Remember – whilst we’re all busy sweating the big things going on in the world, it’s much more likely that the smaller, everyday events will be the ones that prove fatal. Stay safe!
For the livestreamer who nearly set her whole house on fire when cooking in lingerie, click HERE.
