An inquest has heard that the brother of a Team GB star was found dead in a river after fleeing a taxi on a motorway following a night out. Luis Piovesana, 26, disappeared in Bristol in the early hours after a night out in the city on February 27, 2025.
The quality engineer became agitated during his journey home, claiming his taxi driver was trying to kidnap him. Luis was the younger brother of Olympic judo star Lubjana Piovesana, who competed for Team GB before changing her allegiance to represent Austria at the Paris 2024 Games. 'Lulu' won gold in the IJF Grand Slam in Baku and Dushanbe in 2024 in the 63kg weight category.
Final moments captured on CCTV
The 26-year-old’s final moments were captured on CCTV at around 3am before his body was recovered from the River Frome three days later. But the inquest into his death on Thursday at Avon Coroners’ Court heard that there was no evidence of third-party involvement in his death.
Luis had been out for dinner and drinks with friends before heading to The Jam Jar music venue in St Anne’s. He had consumed magic mushrooms before and during the night, as well as drinking alcohol.
Distressed calls and police search
Friends said he became agitated in the early hours and arranged an Uber to take him home at 2:55am. However, Luis attempted to ring his girlfriend and left a distressed voicemail claiming the driver was “trying to kidnap him”. At 3:03am, he called 999 and told an operator he had been drugged and was on the motorway.
A motorist reported spotting a pedestrian walking on one of the motorway lanes around the same time. Police arrived at 3:19am but could not find Luis.
Detective Inspector Peter Walker told the inquest the taxi driver told officers he let Luis out near a motorway slipway. CCTV then picked him up at Eastgate shopping centre moments before he vanished. DI Walker called his movements “erratic” and said it was “clear that Luis was intoxicated” from the footage.
Body found in River Frome
Police watched 12 minutes of CCTV footage showing Luis, with DI Walker saying that there was “nobody else about” at the time. His phone, wallet and bag were found discarded at the retail park, where he had left them.
Luis was reported missing by his partner at 7:37am, triggering a search involving more than 100 officers, friends and relatives. Mounted teams and drones were also deployed in the desperate search. However, his body was found by police divers in the River Frome on March 3. A post-mortem examination found his cause of death was immersion in water, with psilocybin and ethanol also recorded.
Dr Peter Harrowing, area coroner for Avon said: “Luis Piovesana died following immersion in water after entering the River Frome in Bristol some time between February 28 and March 3 2025. How he came to the water has not been established.”
A family statement read to the inquest said: “Luis had a strong, close relationship with his family including an extensive extended family. We last saw him three weeks before his passing, during his sister’s graduation party. He also had large friendship groups in both Bristol and Birmingham. At his funeral, over 500 people attended – a testament to the deep connections he had built.”
