Inquest finds Smiley Culture stabbed himself to death

Tragic reggae star Smiley Culture stabbed himself to death during a police raid on his home in 2011, an inquest has found. A hearing into the musician’s death began last month (Jun13) after Culture, real name David Emmanuel, died in the presence of four cops, who were searching his Surrey, England home on 15 March, 2011 in connection with a drugs investigation.
A handful of witnesses testified in the case, claiming the 48 year old, who had been facing allegations of conspiring to import class A drugs into the U.K., committed suicide by plunging a kitchen knife into his own chest during the raid, and now an 11-person jury has come to the same conclusion.
Announcing the verdict on Tuesday (02Jul13), the jury foreman said, “David Victor Emmanuel took his own life. Although the tragic events… were unforeseeable, giving one officer the responsibility of supervising Mr. Emmanuel and at the same time the premises search book was a contributory factor in his death.”
As a result of the inquest’s findings, coroner Richard Travers will also file a written report offering suggestions on how police can better supervise a prisoner during a home search.