Death slur cops have got wrong man.. it’s ruined my whole life POLICE STAND BY CLAIMS AFTER 9-YEAR FIGHT
Nephew’s fury after he’s accused of rifling through dead man’s belongings
A man claims a nine-year battle to clear his name after police accused him of rummaging through his dead uncle’s belongings has cost him his career and a relationship.
Angus Lyness said his life has been thrown into chaos after an investigation named him as being at the scene when off icers forced their way into Henry Macdonald’s home.
The 56-year-old insists he was on the other side of the Isle of Lewis when the grim discovery was made and is backed up by two other family members.
However, two Police Scotland probes have concluded that officers got it right when they said they discovered Angus in Henry’s bedroom before telling him to leave.
Henry, 58, died of a heart attack at his home on the island’s Borve area in October 2011.
The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) ordered officers to look again at their or iginal investigation that placed Angus at the scene when they arrived after being contacted by concerned neighbours.
But a second inquiry has resulted in the force standing by their findings.
Now Angus is considering asking lawyers to launch a judicial review into his case, which has caused him to quit his job and wrecked his love life.
He said: “This an outrageous slur. I’m at the end of my tether with this.
“The next step is to go for a judicial review to clear my name. I’ve already spoken to a solicitor.
“I need to think about going down that particular route. Who was this man in the house? They are just trying to smudge their mishandling of the case.
“I had to quit my job in the refrigeration business when all this hit me. I was in a long-term relationship but that fell by the wayside when this happened to me – it’s had a massive effect on my life.”
A report into Henry’s sudden death – found to be a “non- suspicious” heart attack – revealed a police officer found a stranger going through his belongings in the bedroom. The man, later identified as Angus, was allowed to leave the house.
But his other uncle – Angus Macdonald – backed claims he was about 10 miles away at the time.
The 75-year- old was outside Henry’s house as police forced entry to the property but failed to see the mystery man. He said: “On the day my younger brother was found dead, my nephew Angus wasn’t at the property when his body was there. I was at the house and he was on the other side of the island. The whole thing has been a shambles.”
Another family member has supported Angus’s claims that he was not present.
In 2018, PIRC concluded that four of Angus’s five complaints about the police investigation were “not handled to a reasonable standard”.
It recommended the force seek further accounts from both officers at the scene, from family members who were present and from the witnesses who can account for Angus’s whereabouts.
However, a complaint handling review, signed by Superintendent Gordon
They are just trying to smudge mishandling of case
Macleod, said: “Having considered all of the information and in the balance of probabilities, there is a sufficiency of evidence to support the officers’ assertion that you were at your uncle’s home at the relevant time and were correctly identified by the officers as the person found rummaging through drawers and, as such, this element of your complaint is not upheld.”
In January 2019, another senior officer wrote: “I am satisfied all appropriate and proportionate investigations into the matters you have highlighted have been completed.”
Police Scotland’s Chief Superintendent Andy McDowall said: “A further response was sent to the complainer and shared with Police Investigations and Review Commissioner in January last year.”