Islington News: Richard Baker | Dalmeny Road | Found Dead | Probation

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Islington Tribune - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 24 October 2008

The Dalmeny Road property where Mr Baker lived

Mystery of man who ‘lay dead for 10 days’

THE death of a convicted criminal in a support home in Holloway has baffled investigators, an inquest heard.
Richard Baker, 55, was found dead in his room in a housing project in Dalmeny Road after another resident raised the alarm.
St Pancras coroner Dr Andrew Reid said that Mr Baker – who had several aliases and was on probation for an undisclosed crime – could have been lying dead in his room for more than 10 days before he was discovered in May this year.
The three-storey terraced former family home has space for seven residents and is run by the charity Carr Gomm, who visit the block from Monday to Friday “to help clients manage their own lives”.
Last night (Wednesday), Islington’s social care chief councillor John Gilbert said he was shocked that Mr Baker may have been dead in his room for more than a week and ordered a investigation.
He said: “If, as the coroner suggested, Mr Baker may have been dead in his room for over a week, then this is clearly completely unacceptable.”
Carr Gomm say staff did “try to make contact” during the week that Mr Baker lay dead, but assumed his lack of response meant he was out.
Last Thursday’s inquest was told that a pathologist with more than 30 years’ experience could not determine the cause of death.
Detectives initially treated it as suspicious, but later decided that while they didn’t know what killed Mr Baker, it was not the result of foul play.
Dr Reid described the circumstances surrounding unemployed Mr Baker’s death as “unusual”, but said that without more evidence he was forced to rule an open verdict.
He said: “He could have been dead for over 10 days. Unfortunately, we were unable to ascertain when he died or the cause of his death.”
Carr Gomm, who have been contracted to manage the Dalmeny Road block by Islington since 2003 and who run five other similar schemes in the borough with bedspace for 37, prompted the coroner to adjourn the inquest at one point as they hunted for their report into Mr Baker’s death.
Mr Baker’s social worker, Christopher Storey, said he was unable to contact any Carr Gomm staff following the death and said the telephone at the block was rarely answered.
A Carr Gommspokesman this week defended their care of Mr Baker describing it as “consistent with the high standards that all our clients can expect”.
But he said Carr-Gomm was “sorry for the upset caused” over the delay in discovering his body.

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