(26 August 2006, Glenfield, Leicester, England) Despite months of investigation, Darren's death remained somewhat of a mystery. The 33-year-old was found in the hallway of his wife's house, bleeding from stab wounds to his chest. The wounds proved fatal despite the best efforts of paramedics and doctors.
No one witnessed the events which lead to his death; however, eventually enough evidence surfaced to stake a claim to his place among the winners of the Darwin Award.
Police initially assumed that an unknown assailant had attacked Darren. However, they could find no supporting evidence. An inquest held nearly a year after Darren's death revealed some salient details about his final minutes.
A friend told police Darren had called and arranged to visit him. Three minutes later, Darren phoned again to ask for an ambulance. The friend summoned the ambulance, and rushed to Darren's house. The front door was ajar, and Darren was lying on the floor.
A bloodstained lock-knife was found nearby. The knife had been purchased by Darren himself whilst on holiday in Spain. Forensics investigators found no indication of a struggle, and the coroner reported that the stab wounds were self-inflicted. However, Darren had shown no suicidal tendencies.
Darren's wife, who was on holiday at the time of the incident, revealed just why our subject will go down in history as a Darwin Award winner. She stated that, as she was leaving for the holiday, she remembered Darren wondering whether his new jacket was 'stab proof'.
That's right. Darren had decided to find out if his jacket could withstand a knife attack. And he did not choose to test his jacket while it was draped over, say, the back of a chair. No, our man decided that the best approach would be to wear the garment and stab himself. Sadly, his choice of armor proved less resistant to a sharp blade than he had hoped.
The coroner reached a verdict of accidental death by 'misadventure'.
