Tim Castro was 22 years old, full of life, and the kind of person who made a room better just by being in it. On the day before his death he'd gone out to celebrate Pirate Day in St Leonards — he'd even bought his girlfriend a costume. That's the Tim people remember: generous, spontaneous, present.
The body of Tim, of Hardwicke Road, was discovered on the beach near Bridge Way at around 6.20am on 23 July 2012. A post mortem confirmed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system. He drowned in the sea, though the exact circumstances have never been established.
Fisherman Billy Cornwall encountered Tim on the beach that night, visibly upset after an argument with his girlfriend.
He was crying and upset, saying he'd lost his girlfriend. I tried to cheer him up and we spoke for about an hour… I said life was not worth crying over and said to go home and sleep. I managed to walk him up the shingle towards the beach as the tide was coming in fast. I then saw him off thinking I'd done a good deed. — Billy Cornwall, fisherman
Mr Cornwall returned the following morning to find police recovering Tim's body a quarter of a mile from where they had spoken.
At the inquest on 20 June 2014, Coroner Alan Craze returned an open verdict — finding insufficient evidence to determine whether Tim walked into the sea deliberately or whether his death was an accident.
We are pleased that it has been proved that drink or drugs did not contribute to our son's passing — but the family will have to spend the rest of our lives not knowing what really happened to Tim. — Sue & Ion Castro, Tim's parents
The family also expressed concern that certain lines of inquiry were not fully pursued — that witnesses had since moved away, and memories had faded in the two years before the inquest was heard.
Tim's girlfriend Stella described meeting him in February 2012 — just five months before he died. "He was a lovely, bubbly and funny person and everyone liked him." That much, at least, is certain.