Claverdon AI tech boss was stabbed in chest, inquest hears

The boss of a technology company whose death sparked a murder investigation was found with a stab wound to his chest in a bathroom, an inquest heard.

Neil Muller, 54, died at a house on Langley Road in Claverdon in Warwickshire, on 7 June.

At Coventry Coroner’s Court on Friday, coroner Sean McGovern said Muller, who was the chief executive of Derby-based AI firm Node4, then suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 06:37 BST that day.

A 55-year-old woman, from Birmingham, who was arrested on suspicion of murder was later released on bail, Warwickshire Police said.

Officers were called to the house at 06:15 BST by the ambulance service, who had found Muller in a downstairs bathroom, just off the kitchen.

He had suffered a single stab wound to the chest, a superficial cut to one of his wrists and a weapon was found nearby in the sink, the court heard.

A post-mortem examination was carried out and a provisional cause of death, subject to further examination, was from the stab wound to the chest.

At the end of the four-minute hearing on Friday, the coroner added: “I open an inquest touching upon the death of Mr Neil Keith Muller.

“I adjourn the inquest to a date to be fixed for police to provide evidence and for [the pathologist] to provide his final report.”

In a statement released after his death, a spokesman for Node4 said they were devastated by Muller’s death, after he had joined the company in April.

“He made a meaningful impact in a short space of time,” the firm said.

“He brought real energy, momentum and passion to the business, and his loss will be deeply felt by people across Node4 and the wider industry.”