Mystery of Brit dad found dead in pool of blood with phone missing in Thailand as even ex-cop left baffled by case

The Sun

12-07-2025

A GRIEVING father has been left frustrated and heartbroken after his former British kickboxing champion son died in mysterious circumstances in Thailand.
Offshore oil rig supervisor Steven Russell, 45, was found dead at home in Dumrongsuk Village, northeast of Bangkok, just before Christmas.
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His father, John Russell, 76, said his family have been left without answers and are now trying to piece together how Steven died.
That's because a Thai police probe, a UK coroner's inquest, and an investigation by a former cop all could not find a cause.
John said he's now been left "desensitised" after having to deal with the grisly details of his son's death.
He told The Sun: "From the photographs, he [Steven] was laying on a settee covered with a blanket, and the blanket was soaked in blood, on the floor was obviously dry blood.
"He'd been there for at least three days."
Steven's body was found after neighbours raised the alarm on December 22.
They alerted the village headman and the police.
Upon arrival, the house was locked from the inside, preventing entry.
Rescue workers were called to get inside the house, and Steven was found lying on his back, covered with a blanket, on the sofa in the living room.
Brit doctors in January were unable to confirm how he had died when his body was brought back to the UK for a formal coroner's probe.
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John said he believed it was unlikely that Steven's death had been caused by some traumatic and violent event.
He said: "There was no signs of anyone breaking in.
"And the autopsy said that all his organs were normal, they were healthy, there was no signs of any traumas, you know, no punctures in the skin.
"All I'm saying is there's like an open verdict in my mind. I can't even, if someone asked me, 'why do you think you died', the answer is 'I don't know', and I don't know whether we'll ever know."
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But, the father said that nothing could be ruled out - even poisoning.
"The only thing we couldn't prove is if he'd been poisoned.
"No way to prove it. Having said that, he was laying on a settee, he was covered up.
"If you were in pain, would you have gotten up or would you have just laid there? Again, I don't know."
The family has now been left trying to track down Steve's last moments to figure out what led up to his death.
"What we're trying to do is put together everything, you know, to do with Facebook messages and everything, you know, to try and button that up.
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"One of the hardest things was, I paid to have all his possessions sent back, and when I got them there was nothing there... we believe he had an iPhone, and we never got that back..."
They're now trying to get access to Steven's social media accounts and speak to all his pals to see when he last messaged.
Due to the condition of Steven's body, they believe he was dead for several days before being found.
John said: "So obviously he died before the 22nd, probably around the 19th."
Determining when Steven died could be important to trying to figure out how he died.
The inquest into Steven's death was held at the Norfolk Coroner's Court in January.
Dr Laszlo Igali, histopathologist, said the medical cause of death could not be ascertained, according to Norwich Evening News.
A hearing in June again gave an open verdict on the cause of his death.
John slammed Thai cops who had been unhelpful in every aspect of Steven's death.
"I got a message on Messenger on the 22nd of December, saying, 'sorry for your loss.' And I wrote back and said, 'what do you mean?'
"And the person came back and said, 'didn't you know Stephen died?' And that's how I found out."
The grandfather has also paid tribute to his son, saying he was an incredibly determined person.
"His ambition was to live in Thailand and work wherever."
Steven had settled in Thailand in 2022, but had lived there on and off for a number of years leaving for extended periods of time to work on oil rigs.
Steven had also been a champion kickboxer, winning the English and British WKU titles in the early 2000s.
He turned pro and fought seven bouts with a record of one win, one draw, and five losses across the space of two years.