A LABOURER whose death sparked a murder hunt died from a brain haemorrhage following an assault, an inquest heard.

Wieslaw Filus was found dead in his city bedsit in Denzil Avenue, Southampton, by housemates who had beaten him up hours earlier in a “revenge” attack.

The 45-year-old was found lying on his bedroom floor, suffering from a number of facial injuries, consistent with being punched several times.

Southampton Coroner’s Court heard how his death in July 2009 led to an 18-month police investigation, costing more than a quarter of a million pounds and involving 180 police officers and staff.

Detective Sergeant Stephen Mardon told the coroner that manslaughter charges against three of his housemates had to be dropped after post mortems were unable to confirm that the injuries to the head were a direct result of the beating or a separate fall.

In April Boguslaw Chmiel, 40, of Bevois Valley Road and Krzysztof Szalus, 27, of Mount Pleasant Road, admitted actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.

Marcin Zonca, 29, and Waldemar Misiak, 50, both of Denzil Avenue, admitted perverting the course of justice.

Southampton Coroner Keith Wiseman recorded a verdict of death from a subdural haemorrhage following an assault.

He added: “There is a more than significant chance that one or other of the blows to the head led to the fatal injury in question however much it may not have been the underlying intent of those taking revenge on Mr Filus for a rather obscure internal matter within the Polish community.”