THE father of Dimitri Pappas, whose body was discovered hanging in a Flatts hotel room 13 months ago, has accused the Bermuda Police Service of mounting a "cursory investigation" into his son's death.

And Jack Pappas told the that he could not understand why no date for an inquest had even been set more than a year after the wealthy Cayman-based accountant and businessman died.

Dimitri Pappas, 37, died in the Brightside Apartments in the early hours of July 20, 2005, and one month later the Bermuda Police Service said a pathology report did "not indicate that foul play was a contributing factor in his death". But Jack Pappas and Dimitri's mother, Sue Kongsli, are convinced their son was murdered and they are losing patience with the Bermuda authorities for having failed to hold an inquest before now.

"Here's this guy found hanging in a closet in a hotel room, so the police have assumed it's suicide and have mounted a cursory investigation," Mr. Pappas said yesterday.

"I was at the scene the day after he died and I saw it for myself. He died at 2 a.m. on July 20, I heard about it 12 hours later and I was in Bermuda the next day by around noon.

"I was met at the airport by the US consulate people and I went to the scene as soon as I could. The hotel manager showed me around and told me what he knew. The room where Dimitri died was not cordoned off ? in fact, it was ready to be let and looked as if it had been cleaned up."

Dimitri's family argue that suicide was implausible in that he had a broken arm needing three more weeks to heal, which they say would have made it impossible for him to tie himself to a clothes bar.

They point out that, at 5ft 11in tall, Dimitri was taller than the height of the closet in which his body was found.

And they say physical evidence gathered in the US does not point to suicide after a top Washington pathologist discovered knife slashes on their son's feet and black and blue marks on the knuckles and abdomen.

But it is understood that police believe he committed suicide after being rejected by former lover Anya McHayle, a forensic psychologist with the Department of Court Services.

Jack Pappas said that there were no indications that his son was feeling suicidal before his death. And he revealed that he had made extensive personal investigations himself.

"A policeman came to talk to us and told us they were thinking it was a case of suicide," he said. "That was shocking to me.

"I spent the days after that calling his friends, girlfriends, colleagues and acquaintances, asking questions. My phone bill for just two weeks was $3,000.

"He had made arrangements for the next few days. He had called a girlfriend in the Caymans and made a date. He had set up appointments with people coming from Canada on the 21st and 22nd. There was no indication of despondency."

Mr. Pappas added that his son owned several businesses and dealt with many large investors, including some from Japan, and that he had also had business dealings with Canadian Government ministers.

"I think he was murdered because he knew more than he should have known about something," Mr. Pappas added.

Mr. Pappas said he had been informed some time ago that an inquest was scheduled for August 8 ? but last week he heard it had been postponed. Bermuda Police Service spokesman Robin Simmons limited his comments to a brief statement yesterday.

"The matter is in the hands of the Coroner's Officer and a date for the public inquest is to be set," he said.

A source close to the police told this newspaper yesterday that "logistical problems" had delayed the inquest, but a date was close to being announced.

This week a story on the case was published by , which quoted an anonymous source close to Bermuda police as saying: "There is mismatch information surrounding this case."

The Coroner's Act 1938 stipulates that an inquest must be held when Coroner is informed that there is reasonable cause to suspect that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death, or a sudden death of which the cause is unknown.

On August 19 last year, the police said their investigation was nearly complete and the findings would be presented to the Coroner who would then decide whether an inquest would be held. A frustrating year later, Jack Pappas is still waiting for answers.