Abdul Ezedi: Body recovered from River Thames formally identified and cause of death confirmed
A body recovered from the River Thames on Monday has been formally identified as Abdul Ezedi, whose cause of death was drowning, the Metropolitan Police said.
His family has been informed and the case will now be passed to the coroner.
Afghan refugee Ezedi’s former girlfriend, a mother-of-two who was doused with a corrosive chemical in a harrowing attack on her and her young children in Clapham last month, is now in a stable condition and no longer sedated, the force added.
On Friday, Commander Jon Savell said: “As the public would expect, our enquiries continue into this atrocious attack.
“We have worked to formally identify Ezedi as quickly as possible.
“The 31-year-old woman is still in hospital and remains in a stable condition and no longer sedated.
“We have still not been able to speak to her but hope to as soon as she is well enough."
The post-mortem examination was carried out at Poplar Mortuary on Wednesday and his body was formally identified on Thursday, the Met said.
Police believe Ezedi, who was from the Newcastle area, threw a burning chemical over his former girlfriend in the attack on her and her young children, aged eight and three.
He then fled the scene, and initially used his bank card to travel on the Tube before walking a route that broadly hugged the banks of the River Thames in the following hours.
During a massive manhunt investigators had to piece together CCTV footage to establish that he had jumped in the Thames.
At around 4pm on Monday the crew of a passing boat reported they had seen a body in the water near Tower Bridge at Tower Pier.
It was recovered by the Metropolitan Police’s Marine Policing Unit, with support from London Fire Brigade.
Friends who are fundraising for the family said the woman is desperate to be reunited with her two daughters.
They said in a statement: “Mum’s still in critical care and desperate to be reunited with her girls.
“We know mum’s lost her sight in one eye, and we’re praying that it returns fully in the other.
“Our friend is a phenomenal mum and the strongest, most independent person we know.
“She’s already making so much progress and is determined to get out of hospital as quickly as possible.”