The son of former Chelsea and Cardiff City midfielder Eddie Newton died alongside his friend after going on a hike in Dubai, an inquest has heard.
Cassius Newton, 34, of Poole in Dorset, and 33-year-old Aran Martinson, from Essex, both died on July 18 this year. Both were living in Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai, at the time, having moved there to work, their inquests heard as they were opened separately in Chelmsford on Thursday.
Hike in desert valley
Essex area coroner Michelle Brown said that Mr Newton “decided to go for a hike with a friend in the morning, about 7am” at Wadi Naqab, a desert valley.
“His wife expressed concerns as she hadn’t heard from him, she being in the UK, and reported him missing,” the coroner said. “It appears they had gone on a route that’s a recreational route, not needing hiking equipment.”
The court heard temperatures would have reached in excess of 40C.
Search and discovery
“Mr Newton was found by a search team approximately three or four kilometres from the vehicle,” she said.
She said the area was a “wholly mountainous region” and Mr Newton was “found lying on his back with rocks surrounding him”. She said he was “350 metres away from his friend”.
He was taken to hospital in Ras Al Khaimah where his death was confirmed later that day. His provisional medical cause of death for both men was recorded as cardiac and respiratory arrest due to severe rising body temperature and heat stress due to exposure to high temperature.
Friend's inquest
Opening the inquest into the death of Mr Martinson separately, Ms Brown said he was “working for a global company and staying in the UAE”.
She said he went for a hike at about 7am on July 18 and was found by a search team who were deployed “when his friend was reported missing”.
“He was found lying on the left side of the road with rocks surrounding him,” the coroner said. She said he was taken to hospital in Ras Al Khaimah where his death was confirmed later on July 18.
Ms Brown adjourned both inquests until a date to be fixed, and said it is likely both will proceed as documentary hearings, with evidence entirely from written materials.
Eddie Newton's career
Mr Newton's father, Eddie, made over 200 appearances for Chelsea and scored the second goal in the Blues' 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough in the 1997 FA Cup final.
He spent just three months on loan with Cardiff in the 1991/92 season but became a fan favourite, scoring four goals in 18 appearances as Cardiff narrowly missed out on a play-off spot.
His performances in the Bluebirds midfield saw him become immensely popular with supporters, who carried him off the pitch following his final appearance and chanted "we want Eddie back" as he returned to Chelsea.
Newton also represented Birmingham City, Oxford United, and Barnet before retiring from playing in 2001. He later returned to Chelsea and was assistant to Roberto di Matteo as the Blues won both the Champions League and FA Cup in 2012, having served under the manager at both MK Dons and West Bromwich Albion.
The now-54-year-old had two further spells as assistant at Stamford Bridge before a brief stint as head coach of Turkish side Trabzonspor in 2020.
However, having taken charge in August of that year, he was sacked in October after winning just one of his seven games in charge.
