British filmmaker Lee Halpin was found dead (http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/local-news/heaton-film-maker-lee-halpin-dies-2519352) Wednesday morning in an abandoned hostel after he set out to spend a week sleeping in the streets to investigate the perils of homelessness in England, according to the Newcastle Chronicle.
Halpin's quest was part of an application to a prestigious investigative journalism internship with England's Channel 4 News, which asks applicants to describe a time they were "fearless" in pursuit of a story (http://4talent.channel4.com/people-development/investigative-journalism-programme).
The night before he set out to spend a week living among vagrants and "scrounging" for food, Halpin, 26, recorded a video of himself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l-0Cw-YQDQU) as part of his application to Channel 4 News.
"I hope that you perceive this to be a fearless approach to a story," Halpin says in the video. "It has certainly caused a huge amount of trepidation among my family and friends."
It's thought that Halpin may have succumbed to hypothermia; temperatures the night he died dropped to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/local-news/heaton-film-maker-lee-halpin-dies-2519352), the Chronicle reported. (Halpin also appears to have asked to borrow a sleeping bag (https://twitter.com/Novel_Magazine/status/318315561165660160) shortly before leaving home.)
But the Chronicle also notes that police have arrested two young men in connection with Halpin's death -- on "suspicion of supplying controlled drugs." The men were released on bail (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/two-men-arrested-on-suspicion-of-supplying-drugs-after-filmmaker-lee-halpin-freezes-to-death-while-making-documentary-about-homeless-people-8561962.html), police said, according to The Independent.
Authorities said they don't think a third party was involved in Halpin's death.
Halpin's promise was evident from his resume: He earned a Master's degree in creative writing and was an editor of Novel Magazine (http://www.novelmagazine.co.uk/index.php/about/), which covers art and culture in Newcastle.
Channel 4, the media outlet to which Halpin was applying, has written a story about his death (http://www.channel4.com/news/lee-halpin-homeless-sleeping-rough-newcastle-investigation) and said it is "saddened to learn of the tragic death of this aspiring young journalist."
(h/t ITV News (http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-04-05/filmmaker-froze-to-death-reporting-on-homelessness/))
Via: HuffingtonPost