Difficulty getting information over Nathan Osman’s Benidorm death, says coroner

A coroner has spoken of the “difficulty” obtaining information from Spanish authorities about the death of a 30-year-old man in Benidorm.

Nathan Osman’s body was found at the foot of a 200m cliff outside the resort in September 2024 less than 24 hours after arriving on the island, where he had been spending a night out with friends.

At a pre-inquest review in Pontypridd, South Wales Police told the coroner that they had requested information on a “number of occasions” without success.

Osman’s family believe foul play may have been involved and have carried out their own investigations after saying they were unsatisfied with the performance of Spanish authorities.

Toxicology reports showed no drugs in Osman’s system.

Area coroner Patricia Morgan said: “When there is a death abroad, it becomes difficult in terms of my legal powers to obtain evidence.

“I need to piece as much evidence from the Spanish authorities as I can find.”

Morgan said that her officer would pursue information through, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

She instructed police to continue to request information through Interpol and for the family’s Spanish lawyer to share any appropriate information with her office.

Osman’s family said they had an eight page document outlining “discrepancies” in the Spanish investigation.

His father Jonathan Osman told the coroner that the Spanish police had chosen the “easiest scenarios” in their investigations.

Morgan instructed South Wales Police to provide her with any records they had about data they had downloaded from Osman’s phone when it had been in their possession after his death.

She told his family “sometimes families don’t get all the answers they want. We have to do the best we can”.

The inquest was adjourned until another pre-inquest review in the spring.