Story summary
On September 15, Nicholas Brandram, a 44-year-old millionaire banker with ties to British royalty, was found dead at his home in Chiswick, west London. The incident occurred after an arrest and police investigation stemming from a notorious push of a woman into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in May 2017. Brandram had been arrested in June for attempted grievous bodily harm but released under investigation with no forensic evidence linking him to the crime, according to his family who claim he took his own life due to immense pressure from the Metropolitan Police investigation.
The Metropolitan Police stated that Brandram's death was unexpected and not suspicious. However, they have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over their contact with him during the probe. His family has denied involvement in the incident and criticized the police for releasing information leading to speculation about his identity.
The ongoing investigation by the Metropolitan Police into the 2017 incident continues despite Brandram's death, raising concerns among critics about the impact of such investigations on individuals' mental health and wellbeing. Bus driver Oliver Salbris credited swift action in averting a severe accident during the original push incident. HSBC, where Brandram had previously worked, did not release a statement regarding his death or involvement in the case.
Written for “Putney Pusher Death Controversy” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
Days before Nicholas Brandram, the man suspected of being the “Putney pusher”, killed himself, he told his family that the police investigation was “murdering him”.
asserted
investigation → suspect → him
He had “no fight left” in him, he told his sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, and could not see an end to the Metropolitan police investigation, or the online abuse.
uncertain
he → have → investigation
Brandram’s lawyers warned the Met last week that his mental health had deteriorated and he was receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital after renewed press reporting that he had been released under investigation.
asserted
he → warn → investigation
“He said a couple of days ago that this investigation was murdering him.
asserted
investigation → say → him
Day by day, he was slowly being murdered,” Hicks, 40, said through tears.
asserted
Hicks → murder → tears
“He saw no end to this investigation,” added Voelcker, 45.
asserted
Voelcker → see → investigation
“My sister and I were keeping a close eye on him because he was telling us he couldn’t go on.
asserted
he → keep → us
He said it more than once in the week before, that he couldn’t keep going.
asserted
he → say → week
All we could do was just reassure him.
uncertain
we → do → him
We had faith in the system, we had faith in the police, and they neglected him.
asserted
they → have → him
They failed in their duty of care to him, to the wider family, and we do not want to see another family going through this.”
asserted
family → fail → this
The pair insisted that Brandram, 44, was not the “Putney pusher” and that he died thinking no one would believe in his innocence.
asserted
one → insist → innocence
He was arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm on 15 June, nine years after a jogger shoved a woman headfirst into the path of an oncoming bus on Putney Bridge in south-west London.
asserted
jogger → arrest → London
The case attracted considerable media attention but appeared to elude detectives, who wound down their investigation in 2018, after interviewing 50 men and arresting three suspects.
asserted
who → attract → suspects
But there was renewed interest in the case after Brandram’s arrest, which his family described as heavy-handed and disproportionate.
asserted
family → be → which
A number of officers in body armour reportedly swooped on his home address, his sisters said, while a reporter who had been tipped off about the arrest filmed the ordeal.
uncertain
who → swoop → ordeal
Although Brandram’s name was not published in the media because he had not been charged, his family said that biographical information in reports made him easily identifiable.
asserted
him → publish → reports
He was described as a wealthy banker who lived in a £1.4m west London home and an army veteran with links to royalty.
asserted
who → describe → royalty
Brandram was the grandson of Princess Katherine of Greece, who was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, which made his arrest all the more newsworthy.
asserted
arrest → make → Victoria
While in police custody in June over the Putney Bridge incident, he was also arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs.
asserted
he → arrest → drugs
His sisters said there was no forensic evidence linking Brandram to the Putney incident and that he had a prominent military tattoo and a withered calf which, they said, distinguished him from the man in footage of the attack on 5 May 2017.
uncertain
they → say → May
That morning, Brandram had walked from his home in Notting Hill Gate to his office in Bond Street and sent his sisters an email from his work account, which they said he could only access from his workplace.
uncertain
he → walk → workplace
They said that evidence was passed on to the police.
asserted
evidence → say → police
They added that Brandram had volunteered to take part in an identification parade and provided his DNA for comparison with a sample recovered at the time of the incident.
asserted
Brandram → add → incident
Hicks said detectives told Brandram just days ago that they still did not know when the DNA analysis would be completed.
asserted
analysis → say → Brandram
“Our brother willingly provided DNA in an attempt to obviously help clear his name and to complete the investigation, and for weeks now we’ve been asking the police just to complete the DNA test,” Voelcker said.
asserted
Voelcker → provide → test
“We’ve always maintained that he’s innocent.
asserted
he → maintain → ?
He always maintained he was innocent.
asserted
he → maintain → ?
We just needed the police to complete their inquiry, and it just felt particularly egregious that they were just hanging this DNA test over him.”
asserted
they → need → him
Hicks said as details of the case kept being reported in the press, her brother became preoccupied by online abuse on forums such as Reddit.
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brother → say → Reddit
People saying he’s the alleged pusher, and you can imagine the vitriol that was coming out online,” Voelcker said.
asserted
Voelcker → say → vitriol
“You can imagine what people might say about somebody they think tried to push a woman in front of a bus.
uncertain
they → imagine → bus
There was a lot of people had a lot of views about our brother, about his background, about where he worked.”
asserted
he → be → background
“And the problem was he was reading it all every day,” Hicks said.
asserted
Hicks → read → it
“The vitriol is still there and that’s what’s so heartbreaking for us, is that when he took his own life he died thinking that effectively everyone hated him and thought he’d done something awful and that no one would see that he was innocent and he knew that his family were behind him but it wasn’t enough.”
asserted
it → ’ → him
The sisters said Brandram had stayed with them in recent days after his mental health deteriorated following the publication of an update about the case that said he had been released under investigation.
asserted
he → say → investigation
“He was really talking about ending his life and ending things.
asserted
He → talk → things
And he was very low and said he felt like he had no fight left in him.
asserted
he → say → him
He couldn’t see the end,” Voelcker said.
asserted
Voelcker → see → end
Brandram was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for six days before being discharged on Sunday.
asserted
Brandram → admit → Sunday
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
