THE GAME IS AFOOT:

Open verdict in death of Holmes expert (Jamie Wilson, April 24, 2004, The Guardian)

The world's foremost expert on Sherlock Holmes was found garrotted in his bed surrounded by cuddly toys and a bottle of gin, an inquest heard yesterday.

Richard Lancelyn Green, 50, had become paranoid in the days before his death, telling friends and relatives that his home was bugged and that a mysterious American was out to besmirch his reputation.

He died from asphyxiation after a garrotte was tightened around his neck.

Yesterday coroner Paul Knapman called it a "very unusual death" and recorded an open verdict. He said there was insufficient evidence to rule whether it was suicide, murder or a deviant sexual act taken too far that had caused the death of the former chairman of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.

The court heard talk of the "curse of Conan Doyle", where people connected with the creator of Sherlock Holmes seem unusually predisposed to unexpected death, breakdown or unpleasant conflict.

Mr Green was found dead on March 27 in bed at his multimillion pound home in Kensington. A pathologist said the form of his death was so unusual he had come across only one other such case in 30 years.