Police found Mr Griffiths fully clothed on his bed, with no evidence of an assault
A British man accidentally fatally stabbed himself while trying to separate two frozen burgers with a knife, in a freak accident that initially confused police, a court heard. Barry Griffiths, 57, died after accidentally stabbing the knife into his stomach at his home in Powys, Wales, in July last year, according to the report Western Telegraph.
Mr Griffiths, who lived alone and was described as “very private”, had been dead for several days before a welfare check led police to discover his body, blood splattered across his kitchen and bedroom.
His phone, wallet and computer were left untouched and there were no signs of a struggle in his apartment.
Police found Mr Griffiths fully clothed on his bed, with no evidence of an assault. It was only after discovering uncooked burgers that detectives were able to piece together what had happened, the court was told.
“The bottom drawer of the freezer had been left open and pulled forward to allow access to the food,” said Chief Inspector Jonathan Rees.
“On the worktop in the kitchen next to the fridge freezer were two uncooked hamburgers, a knife and a tea towel,” he continued.
“The wound to the abdomen would have been about as high as the work surface. My hypothesis at the time was that Mr Griffiths was trying to separate frozen hamburgers with a knife.”
A medical examiner concluded that Mr. Griffiths, who had the use of only one arm due to a stroke, most likely died from an accident and not by suicide.