THE death of a convicted serial sex offender who was found ‘mummified’ in a caravan near Watchet remains a mystery after an inquest into his death failed to determine how or why he died.

Richard Scatchard, aged 70, was found dead on April 4, 2024, after a five-month manhunt sparked when he went on the run following the death of a woman in his Minehead flat.

A post mortem by Home Office pathologist Dr Debbie Cook found Scatchard had not suffered any significant injuries, bore no obvious ligature marks, and did not have any cuts to his wrists.

Scatchard’s blood alcohol level was about the same as the body can produce naturally after death, and he had a negligible amount of diphenhydramine in him.

Diphenhydramine had also been found in the body of Kelly Faiers, aged 61, from Weston super Mare, a woman with whom Scatchard was having a relationship and who died in his flat.

However, Scatchard had five broken ribs, although the injuries ‘would not be expected to cause death’.

An inquest on Thursday (July 9) heard some of the difficulty in finding a cause of death was Scatchard appeared to have been decomposing for some months.

The woman who found him in her step-father’s caravan, Nicky Kieley-Shier, said he was ‘mummified’ and had turned green, while Dr Cook noted the presence of maggots.

Police said there were no clues as to his whereabouts and no sign of life from Scatchard after he disappeared on October 16, 2023.

More than 100 sightings were received but none were corroborated, and he did not have any electronic devices such as a mobile phone which could be tracked.

The night before he vanished, he was recorded on CCTV withdrawing cash from a Co-op in Watchet, and he stayed the night in the West Somerset Hotel opposite.

Scatchard was found lying on the floor of the caravan, where had hung a pair of muddy jeans, apparently to dry, which could suggest he was engaging in forward thinking behaviour.

Mounted police in Minehead as police step up search for dangerous sex offender Richard Scatchard.
Mounted police were called in during a search for sex offender Richard Scatchard after he fled his Minehead flat following the death of a woman. (ASP)

The inquest heard speculation Scatchard may have fallen from his bicycle as he fled the scene of Ms Faiers’ death, which might account for the broken ribs and dirty clothes, or he may have been robbed of the bike and assaulted.

However, the bicycle had never been found and there was no evidence he actually escaped on it.

A hooded man caught on CCTV riding what a friend identified as Scatchard’s bike may not have been him, and the bike may have been stolen.

Senior Somerset Coroner Samantha Marsh said: “I have no evidence of a deliberate act.

“It would be unsafe to infer suicide in this case.

“The ability of the expert in this case, the pathologist, has been hampered by the time between death and discovery.

“Despite a full inquiry, this court cannot say even on the balance of probabilities how Richard Scatchard came about his death.

“On the evidence, taken at its highest, I cannot determine how he came by his death.

“Therefore, I return an open conclusion.”