piece of metal when he bent to look into an elevator shaft, a coroner's court heard yesterday.

And consultant pathologist Dr. James Johnston told Coroner Edward King that John Caesar's body lay at the bottom of the lift shaft for several days.

The corpse was only discovered after a lift maintenance man noticed "a nasty smell''.

John Caesar, 27, of Acacia Lane, Sandys, was found dead on April 29 at the at the Southampton Princess.

Mr. Caesar was a storeman in the hotel's purchasing department and was last seen on Thursday, April 25 by the hotel's director of purchasing Axel Heinicke.

His mother, Petra, reported her son missing on April 26.

Yesterday OTIS Elevator Company mechanic Tyrone Richardson told Mr. King he discovered Mr. Caesar's body.

Mr. Richardson, who was on a maintenance call in the basement level maintenance room, noticed a bag, opened it and saw an identification card bearing the name John Caesar.

"I remember reading in The Royal Gazette that Mr. Caesar was missing,'' Mr.

Richardson said.

He said he looked in the elevator and saw nothing. But when he moved the elevator he saw the body under the weights.

Mr. Richardson told the coroner he had placed danger signs in the maintenance room, which was supposed to be locked, a year or two before the incident.

But he added the door leading to the maintenance room was bent and therefore did not need a key to open it.

Southampton Princess plant manager Trevor Baker told the coroner that only hotel management and OTIS employees should have had access to the machine room.

He said he believed a protective grill was placed over the shaft by OTIS and he said it was the responsibility of OTIS to maintain all the elevators.

He also said OTIS should have reported any maintenance prob lems to the hotel so they could be corrected.

But Mr. Baker admitted the last time he saw a protective grill over that shaft was when the hotel's elevators were inspected by the Government in 1994.

By law all elevators are supposed to be inspected and certified by the Planning Department annually.

Mr. Baker also admitted a Police photograph taken of the machine room after the incident showed a danger sign covered by a piece of clothing.

Dr. Johnston told Mr. Caesar's family he believed the victim had suffered no pain and that death was instantaneous.

Mr. Johnston told the coroner that Mr. Caesar died of a massive crushing injury to the head and chest.

He added that Mr. Caesar's death had occurred some three to six days earlier.

Mr. Johnston suggested Mr. Caesar had his head bent over the balancing portion of the shaft, with his head turned upward to the right. He was hit in the head by the counter-balancing weight as the lift moved. As the lift moved up, Mr.

Caesar's body was thrown down the elevator shaft.

OTIS executive John Olson said in his statement to Police the counterweight weighed 6,618 pounds.

And he added it was the hotel's responsibility to keep the maintenance area locked between visits by OTIS employees.

During his report to the coroner, Det. Con. Paul Hitchens said there was no evidence of foul play in the death of Mr. Caesar.

Det. Con Hitchens said that defective locks allowed Mr. Caesar to gain access to the room and a missing protective grill allowed him to look into the shaft.

He said there was a tragic breakdown in communication between OTIS and the Southampton Princess about the bent doors leading to the maintenance room and the missing grill.

But Det. Con Hitchens added Mr. Caesar should not have been in that restricted area.

He said he could only conclude Mr. Caesar had not anticipated being hit by the counterweight when looking into the shaft.

Coroner Mr. King will issue his ruling on the death today.