Daughters were tragic father’s best friends, inquest is told
THE hours leading up to the disappearance of a Derbyshire dad who was found dead two days after going missing have been detailed during the first day of an inquest into his death.
Robert Chatwin, from Long Eaton, was found in a wooded area near the Erewash Canal, just off the Dockholm canal path, on April 8, 2019, according to police at the time.
Described by his former partner as an “excellent father”, the 37-year-old had two daughters who were his “best friends”. In a statement written by Mr Chatwin’s ex-partner Kelly Riley, the inquest heard how Mr Chatwin was kind and often came round to her house and helped with the day-to-day care of their children.
Ms Riley said: “He said to me I might not be able to help you financially, but I can still help you around the house. His best friends were the girls, they adored him and he adored them.”
On April 5, the day of his disappearance, Mr Chatwin had picked up his youngest daughter, Ivy Rose, from nursery and visited the salon Ms Riley worked in. He then went to Greggs with his daughter to get her some food before heading home.
A couple of hours later, Ms Riley received a phone call from her mum, Amanda, informing her that Mr Chatwin had left Ivy Rose alone at home and disappeared. Both women were “shocked” at this, describing it as “very unusual” for the “loving father” to have left his young daughter on her own, having never done anything like this in the past.
The hearing was told that an eye-witness from the day of Mr Chatwin’s disappearance had seen him walking along a street several times before walking in the direction of a nearby canal, saying that he looked like he was “staggering and unsteady on his feet as if he was under the influence of alcohol”. The police were informed the following morning of Mr Chatwin’s disappearance.
An acquaintance of Mr Chatwin, who was cycling along the canal, spoke to him around three hours after the sighting described above. The man had known Mr Chatwin for roughly 15 years and said Mr Chatwin had asked if he was doing all right.
The inquest heard statements from several dog-walkers travelling along the canal on April 5 who had heard a male voice groaning in an area near the canal, which was shrouded in tall reeds.
One, Karen Tenant, said she heard a “groggy” voice shouting for help, although she couldn’t see the man.
She approached the area and told the inquest she thought the voice sounded like the person “may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs”. She informed the voice she was going to phone the police, when a different voice shouted back, “we’re just messing about”. Despite this, Ms Tenant still rang police.
Officers attended the area two hours after Ms Tenant alerted them to the shouts for help. The police log about the incident stated: “Area searched, nothing seen, nothing heard”.
Two days later, Ms Tenant saw a Facebook post from Ms Riley about Mr Chatwin’s disappearance. She rang police about what she had witnessed on April 5 and offered to show them exactly where the incident happened.
In the early hours of Monday, April 8, 2019, Ms Tenant, along with police officers, visited the area where she had heard the calls for help. She told the hearing: “It was pitch black, one officer went left of where the shouts were from and the other went right. It took them less than five minutes to find a body”.
Mr Chatwin’s inquest is expected to last until today. It is being held at Derby Coroner’s Court.