Samuel Timothy Brown: Footy star’s cause of death is finally revealed 12 years after he was mysteriously found dead at the side of a road
Samuel Timothy Brown, 20, died after being found in a bus and parking lane on the Gold Coast Highway near Mermaid Beach in 2012.
For years there was confusion surrounding the case, with an investigator from the Forensic Crash Unit determining that Brown did not die from being struck by a vehicle.
Senior Constable Steve Cornish said there was no paint or other vehicle debris in Brown’s wounds or on the road, and no abrasions on Brown’s body or clothing that would indicate he had been projected along the road.
But Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher found Thursday, based on evidence from medical experts, that Brown died from his head injuries, likely caused by being struck by a vehicle.
Medical experts revealed Thursday that Samuel Timothy Brown, 20, died from head injuries believed to have been caused by a vehicle collision
“Cornish’s attitude appears to ignore the presence of oil on Samuel’s shirt, as well as the presence of (minor) abrasions on his back, both of which are consistent with contact with a vehicle in the manner described by the medical experts,” said Gallagher. in her findings.
A neurosurgeon who reviewed the case in 2022 also found that it was highly unlikely that Brown suffered his injuries as a result of an assault.
In Brisbane Coroners Court, Brown’s family, who attended via video link, remained silent as the findings were read out.
Brown had been with a friend, Robert Cosgrove, in the hours before he died and the pair had planned to travel to Broadbeach in the early hours of November 25.
Brown’s body was found in a bus and parking lane on the Gold Coast Highway near Mermaid Beach in November 2012
The young football star was with a friend, Robert Cosgrove, in the hours before he died, who later admitted he deliberately left Brown sitting on the side of the road because he was “too drunk.”
Initially, Cosgrove told police he noticed Brown was not with him, but he could not find him.
He later admitted that he deliberately left Brown sitting on the side of the road because he wanted to go to Broadbeach to meet a girl he met on a dating app, and that Brown was too drunk, according to the findings. The court found that Brown’s alcohol level was approximately four times the legal limit.
Gallagher said it was possible that Brown “could have collapsed or passed out on the roadway and a vehicle ran over him (he was hit by the undercarriage but not run over by the tires), or that he was sitting face down in the road towards oncoming traffic’. and was sideswiped by the left side of a passing vehicle.”
In 2015, a taxi driver was charged with hit and run over Brown’s death. However, the prosecutor dropped the case due to a lack of evidence and there are no reasonable prospects for a conviction.