The laptop of a British UFO hunter was reportedly ‘wiped clean’ before being handed back to his family after he mysteriously died.

The sudden death of Max Spiers, 39, has been shrouded in mystery after a friend discovered his body while he was on a trip to Poland to visit a conference.

In December 2016, the court heard the conspiracy theorist vomited two litres of black blood before he died, but the inquest was adjourned.

The sudden death of Max Spiers, 39, has been shrouded in mystery after a friend discovered his body while he was on a trip to Poland to visit a conference (Picture: Youtube)

The dad-of-two, had allegedly made many ‘enemies’ in his investigations.


His inquest will now be held over four days from January 7, next year.

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Authorities in Poland, where Mr Spiers was attending a conference, initially concluded the sudden death was due to natural causes.



A message from his phone sent to his mother Vanessa Bates before he died warned ‘your boy’s in trouble, if anything happens to me, investigate’.

At the pre-inquest review yesterday at the Guildhall in Sandwich, Kent, the court heard the barrister for Max’s mother, Adam Taylor, call for members of the Polish emergency services to appear as witnesses.

Sections from a 700-page docket of statements and evidence assembled will be translated from Polish for next year’s inquest.

Possible evidence over whether disciplinary proceedings were brought against police officers in Poland over Mr Spiers’s death should also be heard.

Analysis of a laptop and a mobile phone that belonged to the father-of-two should also be presented at the inquest, the court heard.

The dad-of-two, had allegedly made many ‘enemies’ in his investigations (Picture: Facebook)

Mr Taylor said: ‘The way in which they were returned and what was done to them is clearly one of the big mysteries.

‘The family has no knowledge whatsoever of what the results of that analysis were.

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‘Mr Bates’ laptop was wiped and, of course, it was not empty at the time of Max’s death. The issue is the Sim card and what was on it. Without sight of the report the family has no answer to these questions.’

There were also a ‘number of discrepancies’ in emergency services accounts about Max’s death, the court heard.

Monika Duvall, a friend who Mr Bates had reportedly been living with, was also asked to attend the inquest.

Speaking afterwards, Vanessa said: ‘Today felt very positive. It’s just over two years now. I did not expect him to go to Poland and not come back.

‘We’ve got hundreds of pages we are working our way through which are all in Polish.

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‘It’s been difficult but gradually we’ve worked our way through. There certainly was some mention of that from the Polish side.

‘We’ve still got stuff that are not translated and I think when we get to the inquest we will know more about whether police procedures were or were not followed.

‘I think it is going to be very difficult to get the Polish witnesses over here.



‘He should be here. He was very fit and healthy when I said goodbye to him. Everything that we have in terms of health records before he went were that he was in great health. This was an enormous blow. I miss him dreadfully.’

After Mr Spiers’s body was repatriated to the UK, doctors at a Margate hospital were unable to determine the cause of his death.

‘Mr Bates’ laptop was wiped and, of course, it was not empty at the time of Max’s death. The issue is the Sim card and what was on it. Without sight of the report the family has no answer to these questions’ (Picture: Youtube)

Kent Police then launched a joint investigation with Polish police into the conspiracy theorist’s death.

At an inquest opening in Canterbury in December 2016, the court heard how the 39-year-old had been visiting Poland to speak at a conference after holidaying with a friend in Cyprus.

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Shortly before his death, Mr Spiers was said to have been probing into the lives of well-known figures in politics, business and entertainment.

At the time his mum Vanessa said she feared the worst.

She said: ‘I think Max had been digging in some dark places and somebody wanted him dead.’

She is hopeful the investigation will shed light on the mysterious death. She added: ‘It’s been a long time coming, but I’m just relieved that at last something is happening and there is a proper investigation and inquest.’

Her theory was shared by many online, with other conspiracy theorists, UFO investigators and bloggers calling the circumstances of Mr Spiers’ death suspicious.

At the time, Coroner Alan Blunsdon told the court he was still awaiting a report from Polish authorities, adding that the workload of Kent Police may delay forensic analysis of Mr Spiers’ phone and computer.


Coroner Christopher Sutton Mattocks said the four-day inquest will be heard at the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone.

He said: ‘It is extremely important that when we start everybody is completely ready for this and we have all the information available.’