A YEAR on from the death of Richard Cole, his family and friends are still no closer to knowing the whole truth of what happened that tragic night in Amsterdam.
On February 1 last year, police divers discovered the body of the much-loved art expert from Cam in a canal near the Thorbeckeplein area of the city.
Dutch authorities said the 30-year-old, who worked for Stroud Auction Rooms and had been on a business trip to the Netherlands, had drowned when he fell in to the Herengracht canal shortly after being mugged by three men after a night out.
Twelve months on, the circumstances of Richard’s death remain murky and the grieving family still have a number of questions they want answered.
A man accused of attacking Richard near the canal and stealing his wallet is due to appear in court in Holland tomorrow.
But Richard’s mum Debbie Thornhill said the she had now reconciled herself to the fact she may never know the whole truth about what happened to him.
“We miss him dearly, and we will always miss him,” she told the SNJ. “It is still painful for all of us. But life goes on.”
“There are still so many questions we need answers to. But unfortunately I don’t think we’ll ever know the truth about what exactly happened that night.
“It seems there is nothing more we can do. We’ll wait to see what happens at the trial this week. But I don’t have much hope.
“There is part of me that thinks we’ll never get to the bottom of it.”
She added a date for the inquest in Gloucester would be set after the verdict of the court case.
Mr Cole had been travelling from Copenhagen to Assen via the Dutch capital and went missing after going to bars in the Thorbeckeplein area at about 2am UK time on January 25.
At the time his family, along with police in the Netherlands and Gloucestershire, launched a desperate appeal to trace him and his brother Lee flew out to Amsterdam to visit bars and distribute leaflets to help with the search.
One week later divers and a tracking dog discovered his body at the bottom of the Herengracht canal.
Following an investigation Dutch police released CCTV images that appeared to show three men grab Mr Cole and steal his phone and wallet close to the canal where his body was later found.
Officers made efforts to identify the three men, but said they did not believe they were directly involved in Richard’s death.
Police said Mr Cole had been on a night out and was "very drunk and therefore an easy target". They made appeals to trace the taxi driver who last saw Richard, but he could not be found.
After Richard’s death tributes from across the district and the country poured in to remember his life.
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