Dream job turned into a nightmare. Mystery surrounds the death of Phillip Cox

Phillip Cox ‘was trying to flee Qatar after telling friends his life was in danger’, he was found minutes to his departure

Circumstances surrounding the death of British expatriate who ‘jumped’ off the balcony of his luxury apartment in the Qatari capital of Doha, remain unexplained after UK inquest

40-year-old  Phillip Cox ‘was trying to flee country after telling friends his life was in danger’ if he tried to leave the country where he had been employed

Informing his mom he felt endangered and had been warned not to leave, she advised him to leave immediately

Summoning courage, he resigned and booked a flight home

The quantity surveyor apparently plunged around nearly 20 ft from his balcony a few hours before he was to board a flight back to the UK

His battered remains was found by the chauffeur who was to take him to the airport

Following his death, his door was found open, suitcases packed,  passport and travel ticket on the table, untouched
food in the microwave

Qatari authorities say no signs of forced entry or of any struggle found

Phillip Cox, an British  expatriate working as a quantity surveyor in Doha, Qatar had told friends and family that he ‘feared for life if he left Qatar’  was found dead on day of flight out of the Qatari capital.  40-year-old Cox had been working in Doha when he became concerned for his safety – but was found dead the day he was due to return home to the UK.
Preliminary conclusions is that expatriate Brit, plunged from a balcony at his apartment block in Doha.
The body of Philip Cox who told friends he was a “dead man” if he tried to leave Qatar was found dead at his home on the day he was due to return to the UK. The body was discovered at the entrance to the Pearl Island apartment complex in Doha on November 4, 2015.
Indications was that he had plunged around almost 20 ft from his balcony.
Cox had been working in Doha as a quantity surveyor since March 2015 and was staying at the luxury Pearl Island apartment complex, as did some of his fellow employees.
During an inquest held at Aberdare Coroners Court, Wales on Wednesday, it was revealed that Cox had expressed fears about his personal safety to family in the days leading up to his death. Statements from his family described the deceased receiving “threats to his life” from people living in the apartment block after making a remark about the Queen Mother.
He had told his friends he was a “dead man” if he left Qatar
The expatriate surveyor apparently was told that if he left Qatar he was a “dead man”, a fact he raised and in conversations with his mother.. He went on to tell her the fears kept him from sleeping and he was “sick with worry”. His mother advised him to resign from his job and “get out of there as soon as possible, on the next flight possible”. Cox also sent a social media message to a friend saying: “I’m a dead man if I try to leave.”

The Pearl in Doha, Qatar. Cox apparently fell or jumped to his death at the Pearl Island apartment complex in Doha

Summoning up courage, Cox handed in his resignation on November 3, with a request to his employers to arrange an immediate flight back to the UK. His departure was scheduled for the next day November 4. A company driver was assigned to pick him up at around 7.30 PM.
However, on the day he was scheduled to depart Qatar, Cox’s body was found near the entrance of the complex. Apparently, he had fallen nearly 20 feet from his balcony half an hour before he was due to depart the Qatari capital. The time of the fall is estimated between 6.45 PM and 7.00 PM. Cox sustained traumatic injuries, particularly to his skull, which lead to his death shortly after.
The victim’s father, Richard Cox , in a statement addressed to the inquest, said: “The fact that he had arranged to come back to the UK, does not lend itself to Philip having jumped.”
“Something really serious must have happened to Philip to make him want to come home so quickly and give up the job he had always dreamed of,” the senior cox said in another In another email sent to the coroners office.
A resolution to the puzzling aspects of the death scene in Qatar does not appear to be coming any time soon. Officers in Qatar said there were no signs of forced entry or of any struggle in the apartment prior to his death.
Still, the report the from the Qatari authorities described how the door to Cox’s apartment was found open with his suitcases packed, his passport and airline ticket on the table. Food was also found in the microwave oven, untouched.
The one aspect of the investigation established by inquests in both countries is the nature of the injuries. A postmortem by Dr Rick James,a pathologist based in Cardiff agrees with the postmortem conducted by a Qatari pathologist in the days following Cox’s death
Both loosely agreed on the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, chest and pelvis as a result of falling from height.
According to Assistant coroner Graham Hughes,  the real difficulty was determining exactly the manner of death, rather than cause of the surveyor’s death.
Hughes explained that the inquiry was more “complicated and time consuming” due to the fact that the Welsh court has no jurisdiction to summon witnesses or gather evidence abroad.
“The investigation into the cause of death was completed by the Qatari authorities, who may not have investigative procedures with the same intensity and thoroughness that we have in England and Wales.
“This means that the court is at the mercy of the Qatari authorities in relation to the quality of evidence.”

The man-made island Pearl-Qatar in Doha, capital of Qatar. Philip Cox had been staying in the Pearl Island apartment complex with fellow workers when he died. His death occurred on the day he was due to fly back to the UK

Statements from the Cox family, witnesses and co-workers was tendered as evidence at the inquest, as were reports from the Qatari police, postmortem reports and evidence from lead investigator on the case for South Wales Police, Det. Insp. Andy Paddison.
However, the inquest heard how no witnesses from Qatar were available and some evidence, including CCTV from the apartment complex, was not made available during the inquiry.
Circumstances which Assistant coroner Hughes said could be described  “frustrating” for investigating officers who had made every effort to gather evidence and liaise with the Foreign Commonwealth Office, leading to the conclusion that it was “extremely difficult” to answer the question of how Mr Cox died.
“There is no doubt in the evidence from Mr Cox’s family that in the days leading up to his death, he perceived there were threats to his own safety and life,” Mr Hughes said.
“Although we have little evidence as to the nature or basis of these threats, they obviously caused a significant shift in his views on remaining in Doha and gave him a really strong desire to leave the country as quickly as he possibly could.”
Mr Hughes added: “But for the reasons given, there is no evidence to explain exactly how Mr Cox came from being in his apartment to where his body was found.”
An open conclusion was recorded.