'The East Markham mystery' - Nottinghamshire villagers baffled by two unexplained deaths in 24 hours at care home

The unexplained deaths of two men in 24 hours at a Nottinghamshire care home has baffled residents of the village which has been the centre of the "mystery." Some of those living close to the care home concerned find it "amazing" that a cause of death for either man has not been determined well over a year on from the tragedy.

At the centre of this story are two grieving families. David Dickson was a 24-year-old senior support worker at Dannsa House, in East Markham, who was declared dead on August 25 after he was found collapsed in his room.

Dannsa House provides care for young adults with autism, learning disabilities and complex needs. Situated opposite East Markham's village hall, the site was previously a private home before its current owners registered with the Care Quality Commission in February 2019.

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Just under 24 hours after Mr Dickson's death, one of the residents at Dannsa House passed away. Stuart Hill, 23, had been at the site since August 2019.

The start of a three-day inquest into the deaths of both men on Wednesday (November 20) heard from two experts who were unable to explain the tragedy. An experienced Home Office-approved pathologist declared "I've got nothing" after an extensive 15-month investigation.

Mr Hill's mother gave an emotional statement at the inquest on Wednesday, saying of her son: "I learnt so much about what it is to be human. Our lives have been devastated by his loss, from which I, for one, will never recover."

Also at the centre of this story though is a quiet Nottinghamshire village near Newark and Retford that became the centre of a huge police presence. Multiple vans, cars and police helicopters were at the scene back in August 2023 and officers maintained a 24/7 presence outside the care home for well over a week.

Jack Anderson, 77, lives so close to Dannsa House that the facility can be seen from his living room window. Mr Anderson said: "It's the East Markham mystery. It's amazing that they haven't been able to determine a cause for either of them.

"Nobody notified us that the inquest was happening, but I suppose we wouldn't have had much to contribute. We were just concerned at the time and it has regularly come up in conversation since, we were talking about it the other day when somebody asked us if we'd heard anything.

"Carbon monoxide was something that many people thought of. The fire service were out here at the time checking drains and a specialist unit came from Leicestershire, it was quite the thing."

Mr Anderson's wife, Allison Anderson, 76, said: "It's very sad for the families. The police were here for ages at the time and there was somebody there guarding the place 24/7, but I suppose that was to make sure nobody broke in.

"There were all sorts of rumours going round at the time. The police didn't give us any information when we kept asking them, but that's fair enough because it looks as if they wouldn't have had anything to say."

Living even closer to the care home is Lynn Heslop, who said: "We've been wondering what happened there and thinking about the families affected who will want to know what happened. We were concerned at the time because they were our neighbours."

Asked if she had seen much activity at the care home since the tragedy, Mrs Heslop added: "No, not at all." Windows at the care home were initially boarded up shortly after the deaths of Mr Dickson and Mr Hill and although those boards have now been taken down, it is understood the site remains closed for now.

One 49-year-old resident of East Markham, who did not want to be named, said he only moved into the village shortly after the deaths at Dannsa House. Living very close to the facility, the man said he had not previously been aware of the tragedy that unfolded just yards away from his home.

The man said: "We've only been here for around a year, so this is the first I've heard of it. People have obviously been keeping quiet about it because I had no idea. I'm going to have to do some Googling on that now."

The company that runs Dannsa House, the Kisimul Group, runs a second facility in East Markham called Salisbury House. That six-bedroom site also provides care for young adults who "have a diagnosis of learning disabilities, autism and can display behaviours of concern."

The Kisimul Group previously said it would not comment further until the ongoing inquest concludes, with the hearing set to conclude at Nottingham's Council House on Friday (November 22). Forensic pathologist Dr Frances Hollingbury said at the start of the inquests into the two deaths: "It's more unusual that I don't know why either patient has died.

"Normally there's something that I can highlight that shows why those deaths have occurred in the same timeframe. I have two unascertained causes of death in young people in the same place. I've done everything I can think of to try and get an answer and I've just got nothing."