Coroners Court

[Willhire89]

An old school friend and father to my godson apparently committed suicide in his car last year

It has today been published that his inquest will be in February

I would like to attend to see what they have established regarding the circs - his wife has nothing to say whatsoever.

Can I just rock up?

What is the format?

Edited by Willhire89 on Wednesday 6th February 16:53

Edited by Willhire89 on Wednesday 6th February 16:53

[pills]

https://coronerscourtssupportservice.org.uk/inform...

[Pica-Pica]

I believe an inquest is open to the public, for reasons of transparency and accountability.

[Willhire89]

Pica-Pica said:

I believe an inquest is open to the public, for reasons of transparency and accountability.

The link above is focused on the attendees being a family member or witness and I am neither - essentially I am just some random person in this process.

it is a three hour drive there so It will be a full day


Edit - open to all including media so I can go

Any thoughts on how much they will have researched the circs?

Edited by Willhire89 on Wednesday 9th January 19:04

[anonymous-user]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...

Section 8 should cover it.

Edit...missed your update Willhire. The whole document hopefully will help with the process they go through.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 9th January 19:14

[Pica-Pica]

They will have researched as much as is seen to be needed, in order not to waste time. However, they may adjourn if they need more evidence, evidence is conflicting, or the inquest becomes too much for key witnesses or relatives. Unlikely though.
Phone the coroner’s office up and explain your association with the deceased. I assume your godson is too young to go. Whether you stay after and meet him or his mother is of course a personal decision.

[Willhire89]

Godson is now at Uni - his father died a week before his A results.

I have tried to engage with the direct family but none of them are forthcoming - his sister is in the same position.

Will the coroner as an example have looked at phone records? I specifically asked the wife who he had last spoken to (this was lunchtime and he ran his business from home) and she said she had no idea and had not bothered looking

The sale of his business to an associate company went through the day of his funeral ....

[eldrich]

I don't think you'll find any answers if you go, from personal experience BiL who suffered from depression was found in his garage with the door closed and the engine running. First court was adjourned, the 2nd one it was closed with an open verdict as they could not say for sure if it was him being in there on purpose or whether he was working on the car and became overcome by the fumes. Very very sad for everyone involved.

[quinny100]

Willhire89 said:

Will the coroner as an example have looked at phone records?

I doubt it.

In the case of suicide the Coroner will take statements from the immediate family and make a judgement based on their contents, particularly on their frame of mind in the period before death, anything from the Police reports and obviously any medical and pathology reports.

It would be for the Police to investigate phone records if they felt the need to do so, but more often than not suicides get little more than a statement from the attending officer so it can be passed to the coroner.

As has already been posted, the Coroner will only return a verdict of suicide if it can be absolutely cast iron beyond reasonable doubt be proven that the deceased intentionally took their own life.

My 11 year old stepdaughter's biological father died in a probable suicide. The verdict was "Drug related death". I suggested we obtain a copy of Coroners Report should our daughter want information when she's older. The Coroner was completely unaware of her as the immediate family had not mentioned the existence of 2 of his 4 children and the Police never asked them. There was no proper investigation.

[rfisher]

Do you have concerns relating to his death?

If you do you should contact the Police to discuss these.

I don't think you can normally make any kind of statement during the inquest, or ask questions.

[Don Roque]

quinny100 said:

As has already been posted, the Coroner will only return a verdict of suicide if it can be absolutely cast iron beyond reasonable doubt be proven that the deceased intentionally took their own life.

This is incorrect. Following a precedent set last year (at Oxford Coroner's Court IIRC) the coroner may now reach a verdict of suicide based on balance of probability rather than the old higher standard.

The case itself will likely take less than an hour to be heard. It's worth going if you want to hear the circumstances of the death.

[Willhire89]

rfisher said:

Do you have concerns relating to his death?

If you do you should contact the Police to discuss these.

I don't think you can normally make any kind of statement during the inquest, or ask questions.

Yes, but I am not planning or expecting to say anything - in all senses I am an interested bystander.

What makes an old friend drive flat out into a tree? - married 20 years he had a successful business run for a similar period, no borrowing and two great children.

The complete and utter disinterest in the circs ahead of the crash from the wife and the almost immediate moving on of the family just make me wonder what I don't know.

On a personal level I regret not seeing him a couple of weeks before - we ducked out of visiting for godson's birthday and of course I wonder now if there was something I might have done to help - all fluff no doubt

I'll go and listen to what is said and just watch the reactions of the wife - I was so pissed off at her behaviour at the funeral I left immediately after and before the wake.

[ralphrj]

Willhire89 said:

The complete and utter disinterest in the circs ahead of the crash from the wife and the almost immediate moving on of the family just make me wonder what I don't know.

Perhaps they do know something but would prefer you to not know.

I'm not suggesting that your school friend had done something as unsavoury as this but this story and this news report have appeared on the BBC News website recently.

[Willhire89]

ralphrj said:

Willhire89 said:

The complete and utter disinterest in the circs ahead of the crash from the wife and the almost immediate moving on of the family just make me wonder what I don't know.

Perhaps they do know something but would prefer you to not know.

I'm not suggesting that your school friend had done something as unsavoury as this but this story and this news report have appeared on the BBC News website recently.

I can say with a good deal of certainty that those scenarios are different - I agree there may well be something that triggered it that they would rather not share....... like she had announced she didn't love him anymore and he was out - that is a possibility.

Selfishly I would like some answers and I think my expectation has now been suitably set (low) by the responses and experiences for which I am grateful.

[Marcellus]

It’s been a few years since I went to the Coroners court but iirc they coroner needs to establish where, when and how the person died but not why.

I’m not sure if you go you’ll find the answers you’re looking for.

[5.0ltr]

Public always had access but limitations these days as they can be held in small rooms, suggest a call to the coroners officer at the Local Police station. (Sorry for your loss.)

[Willhire89]

Ultimately I did get enough of an understanding as to what the circs of my friends death were although I had to work at it

I did not go to the inquest at the family request as they told me it was a private matter and aside from advising me that a narrative verdict had been recorded would say nothing more. I should just mention again we grew up together and I was his best man and godfather to the son not just a random busybody. I knew him before his wife was born.

I found that you can request the Coroner direct for the full verdict and within an hour it was sent by email - In short there were documented MH issues coupled to excessive self induced alcohol intoxication which led to his actions. Stepped back from suicide as intention could not clear

I have no clue why the family couldn't say from the outset that he's been struggling of late and drinking too much and skip the whole secret squirrel crap - we would have understood and respected them much more for doing so

I thank the whole gang of people who went out that day to do what they could to no avail - he really wasn't very well

[Cyberprog]

Willhire89 said:

Ultimately I did get enough of an understanding as to what the circs of my friends death were although I had to work at it

I did not go to the inquest at the family request as they told me it was a private matter and aside from advising me that a narrative verdict had been recorded would say nothing more. I should just mention again we grew up together and I was his best man and godfather to the son not just a random busybody. I knew him before his wife was born.

I found that you can request the Coroner direct for the full verdict and within an hour it was sent by email - In short there were documented MH issues coupled to excessive self induced alcohol intoxication which led to his actions. Stepped back from suicide as intention could not clear

I have no clue why the family couldn't say from the outset that he's been struggling of late and drinking too much and skip the whole secret squirrel crap - we would have understood and respected them much more for doing so

I thank the whole gang of people who went out that day to do what they could to no avail - he really wasn't very well

I know how you feel about this - we lost a co-worker in similar unexplained circumstances. The way his family explained it was just that he didn't wake up. I was curious and like yourself, I emailed the coroner recently asking for the details of what happened. Had a response back the next morning - very efficent and it said that essentially it was drug related, but not suspicious. Kinda what I had suspected!

[otolith]

The family will have been supplied with the facts relating to the death. Statements from the police and people interviewed by the police. Autopsy report. I expect that they have made their own minds up about what happened.

In cases of suicide you can drive yourself crazy with "why" and "what if" and "if only". Don't go there. It doesn't change anything.