Key facts
- Nicholas Brandram's sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, accuse the Metropolitan Police of negligence in handling his case.
- The family claims a DNA test would have cleared Brandram's name.
- Brandram was arrested on suspicion of being the 'Putney Pusher' who shoved a woman into a bus on Putney Bridge in May 2017.
- His family insists he was innocent and died by suicide due to immense pressure from the investigation.
- The sisters allege police delayed DNA test results, despite Brandram offering to pay for a private test.
- Brandram was also arrested for possession of Class A and Class B drugs.
The sisters of Nicholas Brandram, the man arrested in connection with the 'Putney Pusher' incident, have accused the Metropolitan Police of negligence and claimed their brother was innocent. Alexia Hicks, 40, and Sophie Voelcker, 45, stated that police pressure and delays in processing a DNA test contributed to Brandram's death by suicide.
Brandram, a 44-year-old private banker and former Army officer, was suspected of being the jogger who pushed a woman into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in May 2017. His family has maintained his innocence, asserting that he took his own life after months of immense pressure from the investigation.
The sisters claimed that Brandram had offered to pay for a private DNA test two months prior to his death to expedite the process, but police assured him that results were imminent from their own testing. They expressed frustration that the investigation was prolonged, exacerbating his deteriorating mental state.
According to the sisters, evidence provided to detectives included an email sent from Brandram's work account at 8:13 am on May 5, 2017, from his Bond Street office, which was approximately four miles from Putney Bridge. The jogger was last seen by the victim around 7:55 am that morning. They also pointed to Brandram's physical characteristics, such as blue eyes and a withered leg from an army injury, which they claim did not match the description of the suspect.
Brandram was arrested in June, nine years after the incident, and was released under investigation. He was also arrested for possession of Class A and Class B drugs. His family protested his innocence, stating there was no credible forensic or circumstantial evidence linking him to the event.