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Delroy Phillips: unanswered questions over death |
Victim ‘could have been strung up in alleyway’
Inquest halted as family question police and ‘suicide’ theory
AN inquest into the death of a man whose body was found in a Soho alleyway was dramatically halted on Tuesday amid claims from his family that he may have been murdered.
Delroy Phillips, 28, had been out of prison for just two weeks following a five-year jail spell for attempted robbery, when he was discovered hanging from a gate in a rubbish storage area off Broadwick Street on January 10.
Police have closed the file on his death and it had been assumed he had killed himself.
But relatives told Westminster Coroner’s Court on Tuesday that they suspect foul play.
Mr Phillips’s younger sister, Katrice Burke, told the court she has seen CCTV footage that shows two men following her brother into the alley minutes after he was last seen alive.
This claim was in direct conflict with police evidence that nobody entered the area for five hours.
But under oath, Ms Burke, 17, from Bermondsey, also claimed she had heard two men bragging that they had murdered her brother, speculating that he had made enemies in prison who might want revenge.
Coroner Dr Paul Knapman said: “Either Katrice Burke is telling the truth or the police are telling the truth and we will find out.”
He brought the proceedings to the halt and adjourned the hearing.
The coroner will now call an independent expert to inspect the CCTV footage either to validate or discredit Ms Burke’s claims.
Mr Phillips’s family have their own copy of the footage after they conducted a private investigation into his death because they were not satisfied with police inquiries.
Ms Burke told the court: “I heard two men say they killed my brother.
“Why would you say you murdered someone when you didn’t. It doesn’t make sense. When you’re mixed up in drugs you make enemies. I’ve seen the footage and it shows two men going into the alley. He could have been strung up to make it look like suicide.”
His family and girlfriend of 15 years Stephanie Ryland said he was not the “type” to commit suicide, and had been in high spirits during the start of his year-long probation.
Mr Phillips was due to start work as a labourer on the morning of his death and had signed on with a number of temping agencies.
Speaking outside court, Ms Ryland, 26, who visited Delroy in prison in the Isle of Wight every fortnight for five years, said: “That night has played over in my head a thousand times. We were planning the rest of our lives together and I had never seen him so positive. He was back on the straight.”
She added: “At one point I had kind of accepted suicide because I think he thought he had ruined things for me, his family and his sisters. But now there are so many unanswered questions, especially with the CCTV.
“Katrice is not a liar and she knows what’s going on the street.”
Part of the CCTV footage taken from a security camera directed over the area showing Mr Phillips going into the alley was lost temporarily.
PC Ismail Mattar told the court that he has now seen the tape in full, adding: “We had trouble transcribing the tape from the security firm and some of it was unavailable at first. I have now seen the footage in full and nobody enters the alleyway.”
A post-mortem examination revealed a “significant” amount of cocaine in Mr Phillips’s blood and the court heard that he had slipped back into smoking crack cocaine after his release.
In 2003 Mr Phillips was sentenced to six years in prison for attempting to rob an off-licence and shooting the shopkeeper.
The inquest into his death is due to be resumed in May.
Dr Knapman said: “The police do make mistakes. We all do – but this is a very serious allegation.
“The CCTV will be reviewed by a specialist.” |
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