Calls were made today for a new inquest into the death of former Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and for his body to be exhumed. Jones, a founding member of the legendary rock group, died in 1969 when he drowned while taking a midnight swim at his Hartfield, Sussex mansion. There have been a number of conspiracy theories about his death and his girlfriend at the time, Anna Wohlin, believes he was murdered – claims repeated in last year’s film Stoned. The Coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure but a new investigation has cast doubt on the official account that Jones drowned after taking a cocktail of drink and drugs. A BBC documentary will tonight show how Jones, 27, had drunk the equivalent of only three-and-a-half pints of beer and the drugs found in his system could have been prescribed sleeping pills. Trevor Hobley, who has spent more than three years probing the death, will present his dossier of evidence to the Attorney General in the hope of getting a fresh inquest. Mr Hobley, 56, is the chairman of the Brian Jones fan club, and has hired a team of forensic experts and a lawyer to help his investigation. He said: "We have come across some really damning new evidence – between the BBC, myself and the lawyer – and we are going to present it to the Attorney General in an attempt to have the death by misadventure verdict replaced by an open verdict. "This will then allow us to go to the next stage of having a fresh investigation and a new autopsy." Mr Hobley believes the only way to get to the truth of what happened to Jones is to exhume his body from its grave in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He said: "Brian Jones is the silent witness that carries the exact cause of his death and the only way that we’re ever going to get to the truth is to have Brian Jones’ body exhumed. "Distasteful as it might seem to some people, this is almost an inevitable consequence of what I’ve discovered over the last three years." Mr Hobley claims to have uncovered evidence which was not available at the inquest, and to have new witnesses, but he refused to disclose any further information about his investigation. He agrees that Jones was murdered and claims to have uncovered a number of possible motives for killing the rock star. Mr Hobley said: "I state quite categorically that I’m 100 per cent certain that he was murdered. "For any murder, you have to have a motive, and the thing I have done is that I have uncovered possibly two or three motives." Tonight’s edition of Inside Out West will feature Mr Hobley’s investigation and he said the BBC hopes to follow his future progress as he bids to get a new inquiry into the musician’s death.
Daily Mail
I wonder if they will get one?
