# Open verdict on Peapell; police made no further inquiries

> Peapell was found under his car with the engine running and the garage door shut; the inquest returned an open verdict and Thames Valley Police said no…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists/evidence/EVD0DGGD72K1WS4/open-verdict-on-peapell-police-made-no-further-inquiries  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Marconi scientists' deaths, 1982–1990](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists)Evidence

Evidence · Marconi scientists' deaths, 1982–1990

# Open verdict on Peapell; police made no further inquiries

Peapell was found under his car with the engine running and the garage door shut; the inquest returned an open verdict and Thames Valley Police said no further inquiries were going on. His wife said he was happy, and the MoD said his work was an unclassified open-literature study.

Suggestive0

## What it means

Key question[Which of the deaths remain unexplained after their inquests, and what would settle each one?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists/questions/QST0DGG9P56CQK6/which-of-the-deaths-remain-unexplained-after-their-inquests)

No evidence yet

**No evidence yet** unchanged

Part of it[How did Peter Peapell die under his car in his garage on 22 February 1987?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists/questions/QST0DGGA2MVRF1B/how-did-peter-peapell-die-under-his-car-in-his-garage-on-22)

No evidence yet

**No evidence yet** unchanged

Answer this evidence bears on[Self-inflicted carbon monoxide poisoning](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists/answers/ANS0DGGBFKDMND6/self-inflicted-carbon-monoxide-poisoning)

Bears onnone for, none against

**Still possible** was No evidence yet

What it implies
1.

Neither intent nor another person's involvement was proved; the claim that the position was impossible alone is unsourced.For: How did Peter Peapell die under his car in his garage on 22 February 1987?

## Next steps 2

1

Peapell inquest

Could shiftFair odds

[On: How did Peter Peapell die under his car in his garage on 22 February 1987?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists/questions/QST0DGGA2MVRF1B/how-did-peter-peapell-die-under-his-car-in-his-garage-on-22)

**32** score

Details

Find Oxfordshire coroner or Oxford Mail coverage of Peter Peapell's 1987 inquest.

2

Find the Oxfordshire inquest report on Peapell (spring 1987)

Could shiftFair odds~3 h

[On: How did Peter Peapell die under his car in his garage on 22 February 1987?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists/questions/QST0DGGA2MVRF1B/how-did-peter-peapell-die-under-his-car-in-his-garage-on-22)Set by this evidence

**23** score

Details

Oxford Mail / Swindon Advertiser coverage of the inquest would give the pathology and any police reconstruction of how he came to lie under the car.

Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes

## Sources 3

[Coincidence or conspiracy?](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DGG68J10XD6/coincidence-or-conspiracy)

Eliason 1988

SRC

[Inquests (Police Investigations): written answer, House of Commons, 19 April 1988 (HC Deb vol 131 c407W)](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DGG5N0TNBHY/inquests-police-investigations-written-answer-house-of)

Commons 1988

SRC

[Sixth scientist found dead](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DGG68CHBYC4/sixth-scientist-found-dead)

NZPA-PA 1987

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Open verdict on Peapell; police made no further inquiries [Evidence EVD0DGGD72K1WS4]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DGGD72K1WS4
```

Key

**EVD** 0DGGD72K1WS4

Kind

Evidence

Tier

Suggestive

Found in

[Session 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marconi-scientists/sessions/SES0DGGH6FG4GHG/session-1-the-marconi-deaths-the-record-collected-and-the) · 3 Nov 2026

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