Riddle of young dad’s death plunge
FAMILY CRITICISES POLICE FAILURE TO CHECK CCTV FOOTAGE BEFORE IT WAS OVERWRITTEN
POLICE admit a man who died from traumatic head injuries following a fall from a staircase could have been pushed, an inquest heard.
Officers failed to obtain what could have been vital CCTV evidence following the death of young dad Luke Riley, a coroner was told.
The 20-year-old, from Stockport, was found dead on the morning of September 24 last year off Deansgate - between Wren estate agents and the railway bridge.
Senior coroner Nigel Meadows has now pledged to write to the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police after concerns were raised by Mr Riley’s family that it took more than 30 days for officers to contact the council to check CCTV footage.
By the time they did, it had been overwritten, the court heard. Mr Meadows said opportunities to preserve evidence that may have given a clearer picture of how Luke died were ‘not taken.’
It was admitted that cameras could have shown Luke’s movements that night.
This was of particular concern to his parents, Duncan Riley and Mandy McDonald, who were highly critical of police.
“You can’t rule out that he [Luke] was pushed by somebody,” Mr
Riley said to Detective Inspector Andrew Worthington.
“No, we can’t,” he replied. But DI Worthington, who investigated the incident, concluded there was no third party involvement and that Mr Riley accidentally fell.
Mr Meadows recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
Earlier, Manchester Coroners’ Court heard that Mr Riley and his friend Joe Cholerton were spoken to by two BTP officers following an alleged disturbance.
Three men on the train had reportedly been the victims of an assault by Mr Riley and Mr Cholerton. None of them wanted to make a complaint to police, the court heard.
When a BTP officer went to talk to Mr Riley again, he had ‘left of his own accord,’ according to a member of staff at the station.
The next morning - at around 7.30am - a member of the public, left Deansgate station and walked under the Metrolink bridge.
He found a body which proved to be that of Mr Riley.
DI Worthington told the court Mr Riley suffered a number of injuries, including a significant
head injury.
“He appeared to have fallen at some point but we don’t know how,” he said.
DI Worthington added: “Mr Riley was involved in an incident at the train station and his friend ran away from the police.
“He may have sat on the top rail and fell from there.”
He said there were no suspicious circumstances. Mr Riley’s cause of death was recorded as traumatic head injuries by pathologist Dr Amani Brown. Toxicologist Dr Julie Evans said Mr Riley would have been nearly three times the drink-drive limit at the time of his death. Senior coroner Nigel Meadows recorded a conclusion of accidental death, saying that being ‘very intoxicated’ probably led him to slip, trip or fall.
“A significant amount of alcohol in his system contributed to his death,” he told the court. “There are a number of cameras that could have had a view of the routes that he had taken to leave the station. However, there was no request for this CCTV to be kept. “There were opportunities to try and preserve the evidence, which were not taken.”
There were opportunities to try and preserve the evidence, which were not taken Coroner Nigel Meadows