Parents hear how terror victims died
BRITAIN: Victims of the London Bridge attack were stabbed in the neck, chest and back, an inquest heard yesterday as Scotland Yard warned that resources were too stretched to cope should terrorism become ‘‘the new normal’’.
Julie Wallace, mother of one of the five stabbing victims whose inquests opened yesterday, was present at Southwark coroner’s court to hear details of her daughter’s death. The coroner offered condolences as he read details of the fatal stabbing of her daughter Sara Zelenak, 21, of Brisbane, Australia. Mark Wallace, the victim’s stepfather, was also present.
The other four victims whose deaths were raised yesterday were: James McMullan, 32, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, and Ignacio Echeverria Miralles de Imperial, 39.
A short distance away at City Hall, the London Assembly questioned Craig Mackey, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, on its budget. He said three terrorist attacks in three months had left firearms officers in particular ‘‘dramatically stretched’’.
‘‘Do we have the resources to cope with what we are doing at the moment? What are the resources that we need if this is the new normal level?’’ Mackey asked.
’’There are officers who are feeling the stretch quite dramatically, officers are finding it quite stretched. Over the coming three to five years we have got to make sure the resources can flex to whatever the threat is.’’
Andrew Harris, the senior coroner at Southwark, opened the inquests and suspended them to ‘‘give primacy’’ to the police investigation.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Moring gave evidence that Zelenak’s body was found in Borough High St. He described the nanny, who was single and lived in Westminster, as having died from a ‘‘stab wound to the neck’’.
McMullan’s body was recovered outside the Post Office on Borough High St. He died from a haemorrhage and stab wound to the chest. The entrepreneur, who was single, was from Brent, northwest London.
Boden was found in Montague Close near Southwark Cathedral. The senior staff nurse, who was described as ‘‘single, cohabiting’’ and having lived in Hampstead, died from ‘‘an incised wound to the chest’’.
Belanger died ‘‘in the vicinity of Borough Market’’ from stab wounds to the chest. He was described as single, a chef and a resident of Leyton, east London.
Mirales de Imperial, a financial crime and risk analyst for HSBC, was stabbed in the back on London Bridge, where his body was recovered. He was single.
Harris said the families would receive full autopsy reports but declined to read them in court. ‘‘One of the most horrible things is for a parent to be in court hearing the details of the death, particularly the violent one, of their children. All our thoughts and condolences are with you.’’
Inquests are expected to open today for the remaining three people known to have died: Christine Archibald, 30, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, and Xavier Thomas, 45. The causes of their deaths remain unknown.
Thomas is thought to have been thrown into the river after being hit by the attackers’ van on London Bridge. His body was later recovered downstream at Limehouse. Archibald was also reported to have been hit by the van. – The Times