Death of Max Spiers

Max Spiers
Born (1976-12-22)December 22, 1976
Died (2016-07-16)July 16, 2016
Cause of death Under investigation as of 2017
Occupation Conspiracy theorist
Children 2

Max Spiers (December 22, 1976 – July 16, 2016) was a conspiracy theorist from Britain.

His death caused controversy among some members of the conspiracy theory community which made him the target of reports from BBC News and other news outlets. Max believed in a variety of paranormal events, including that he had been altered as a child to become a supersoldier. Max's credibility as a conspiracy theorist has been doubted by other members of the conspiracy theory community, including Adam Borowski from Radio Paranormalium, a Polish independent journalist who stated "he [Max] seemed to collect the research of other people and present it as his own" and that Max had never proven having any abilities related to his claim of being made a supersoldier at birth.[1]

Spiers died on 16 July 2016 in Warsaw, Poland, while visiting his friend.[2] In a multi-part short documentary series on his death, made by the BBC, his mother stated that she had been concerned about Max's mental health prior to his death, and that she believed he had "gotten involved with the wrong crowd." A final video taken of Max before his death revealed that, according to his mother, he was displaying signs of substance intoxication[3] and that she had seen him in a similar state in the past after he had taken heroin.[4][5] Another conspiracy theorist, who was close to Spiers, suggested that Max's drug use was controlled by extraterrestrial life[6]. A message from Max's phone stating "your boy's in trouble. If anything happens to me, investigate" was sent to his mother before he died. It is reported that Max vomited a quantity of black fluid prior to his death.[7]

Background

Childhood

Per a diary entry written by Max, aged 5, he accounted seeing "lights outside of the window and strange men wearing v shapes around their necks."[8] Max had been interested in conspiracy theories from a young age and he would often stare outside of the window expecting to see UFOs. Some think that he had watched a programme called Monkey Magic as a child and imagined himself to be Tathāgata, a character with the Buddha's power depicted in the programme.[9]

Later life

In later life Spiers went on to recall various events including out-of-body experiences which he used to justify conspiracy theories, including the belief that he had been given supernatural powers at birth. Max also suffered severe anxiety, which sometimes left him completely debilitated.

Drug use

While in the United States he had an accident which resulted in a crack to his pelvis. This led to a prescription of potent opiate pain relief. Max later developed an opioid use disorder. After finding himself unable to acquire more prescription opiates, Spiers began to take heroin.[10] There are claims that Max relapsed while in Poland, and a video taken shortly before his death seems to provide grounds for this assertion, as according to his mother, Max behaved in a way consistent with his previous behaviours demonstrated after having taken heroin.[11]

Death

On 16 July 2016 Spiers died on the sofa at a friend's house in Warsaw, Poland. According to the Polish prosecutor handling the case, Max's friend called an ambulance. A doctor attended the scene but was unable to revive Max. He did not take steps to inform police about the incident. Information regarding Spiers' death did not reach the prosecutors office until 30 August 2016, which was after Max's body had been handed over to British authorities. Due to this fact Polish authorities could not conduct an autopsy.[12]

Investigation

On 30 August 2016 an investigation was launched into the circumstances surrounding Spiers' death. The investigation by Polish authorities is looking into the involuntary manslaughter of Max Spiers.[13][14] The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have commented that British authorities will not conduct investigations into Max's death with an aim to prosecute as it is the responsibility of their Polish counterparts. In December 2016 British authorities announced they would launch an inquest into his death, which is distinct from an investigation with an aim to convict (the role of convicting is undertaken by the Polish Prosecutors' Office, who may choose whether to accept the Inquests findings.) A coroner told the inquest he was waiting to receive a report from Polish authorities. As a result, the proceedings were adjourned until February 2017.[15]

References

  1. ↑ BBC Stories (2017-02-27), Max Spiers: How fear and suspicion haunted his last days (Part 3) - BBC Stories time stamp 220s, retrieved 2017-03-02
  2. ↑ "Max Spiers: conspiracy theorist's friend Monika Duval to be quizzed by Polish police". Kent Online. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  3. ↑ Could Max Spiers's last interview help explain his death?, 2017-02-25, retrieved 2017-03-02
  4. ↑ "Fractured: The Death of Max Spiers". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  5. ↑ How fear and suspicion haunted the last days of Max Spiers, 2017-02-25, retrieved 2017-03-02
  6. ↑ Calzado, Tatiana. "The unsolved death of a conspiracy theorist – The Hawk Eye". www.hebronhawkeye.com. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  7. ↑ "A conspiracy theorist 'vomited black fluid before he died'". The Independent. 2016-12-16. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  8. ↑ BBC Stories (2017-02-25), Max Spiers: Could the last interview help explain his death? (Part 2) BBC Stories time stamp 54s, retrieved 2017-03-02
  9. ↑ BBC Stories (2017-02-25), Max Spiers: Could the last interview help explain his death? (Part 2) BBC Stories time stamp 89s, retrieved 2017-03-02
  10. ↑ BBC Stories (2017-02-25), Max Spiers: Could the last interview help explain his death? (Part 2) BBC Stories time stamp 318s, retrieved 2017-03-02
  11. ↑ BBC Stories (2017-02-25), Max Spiers: Could the last interview help explain his death? (Part 2) BBC Stories time stamp 465s, retrieved 2017-03-02
  12. ↑ BBC Stories (2017-02-25), Max Spiers: The mysterious death of a conspiracy theorist (Part 1) - BBC Stories time stamp 498s, retrieved 2017-03-02
  13. ↑ BBC Stories (2017-02-25). "Max Spiers: The mysterious death of a conspiracy theorist (Part 1) - BBC Stories time stamp 116s". Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  14. ↑ "Sci-fi writer to be quizzed over death of Kent UFO hunter". Kent Live. 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  15. ↑ "UFO expert Max Spiers 'vomited black fluid' before his death, inquest hears". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
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