Putney Pusher suspect offered to fund his own DNA test but Met kept telling him results were 'any day now'

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Nicholas Brandram's sisters revealed he offered to pay privately for a DNA test two months before his death, but Met officers told him not to because results were coming "within four weeks." Days before he was found dead at his Chiswick home on Tuesday, police told him they could not give any date at all. Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker told BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme their brother's mental state had "deteriorated so much that every day was becoming difficult."

The sisters said the 44-year-old ex-Army captain had blue eyes, a withered leg, a military tattoo and evidence he was at his Bond Street office when the 2017 attack took place.

Police minister Sarah Jones said Scotland Yard must explain its decision-making, as the Met referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

'The police know he's innocent,' his family said — accusing the Met of being 'negligent and reckless' and warning that the real Putney Pusher is still free.