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The condolence card
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Card on doorstep broke the tragic news that son had died
Police officer disciplined for mix-up, inquest told; Mum’s tragic discovery
A CORONER has criticised police for failing to inform a mother of her Tufnell Park son’s death, after she only learned the tragic news when a condolence card turned up on her doorstep.
An internal investigation has been launched after an inquest into the death of Daniel Abrey revealed a list of failings on the part of Islington police and Essex Constabulary.
When a bunch of flowers and a condolence card arrived at her home, Hilary Abrey received the most painful shock of her life. The sympathy card was the first she knew of her son’s death seven days earlier, a St Pancras inquest heard yesterday (Thursday).
The inquest learned how a communication breakdown led to police officers failing to inform the increasingly-worried Mrs Abrey of the 22-year-old’s death at his Tufnell Park Road home in Tufnell Park in September last year. She had been trying to contact her son for more than a week.
An Inland Revenue officer who, in keeping with his Goth lifestyle, had changed his name to Serendipity Leviticus, Mr Abrey was found dead in his room next to three syringes used for injecting heroin.
A post mortem revealed he had low, non-fatal doses of heroin in his body and had died of acute pulmonary edema, a collection of fluid in the lungs caused by the heart’s inability to pump blood properly.
At the inquest, Mrs Abrey branded the police investigation “a comedy of errors” as details emerged of an inexperienced officer being left in charge of the scene of Mr Abrey’s death, a mandatory report recording home deaths on a central police system not being filled out, Mr Abrey’s ex-girlfriend being allowed into his room unaccompanied only hours after his death, and evidence being left in his room for weeks, during which time friends entered and deleted numbers from his mobile phone and files from his computer and removed books and clothes.
Irritated by the mobile phone’s constant ringing – as Mrs Abrey desperately tried to trace her son – friends removed its battery. Mrs Abrey only learned the terrible news when her son’s work colleagues sent a card to her home. She said: “I live on my own. It could have killed somebody finding out like that. Five days my son had been dead. They had already carried out a post mortem.”
Deputy coroner Andrew Walker told Detective Constable Christopher Parsons, of Islington police: “It seems the system here of notifying next-of-kin completely failed.”
DC Parsons said: “I’m aware that an officer has been disciplined for this.” He confirmed an investigation was continuing.
Summing up, Mr Walker said: “There are areas of evidence that are clearly missing.” Delivering an open verdict, he said the cause of death was unascertainable.
Mrs Abrey’s barrister, Leslie Thomas, said: “Initially, this death was labelled as drug related and the coroner has dismissed that. The way the police initially handled this was as if it was a closed book. They made assumptions from the off.”
Mrs Abrey added: “Daniel was an intelligent, articulate boy, witty, sarcastic, moody, funny man. He had an eclectic taste in music from classical to really heavy metal.”
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “Guidelines and operating procedures are being looked at and recommendations are being made following a full and thorough review. A notification of intention to commit to proceedings in a civil case has been filed.”
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