Two in court over leaked CCTV pics of tragic footballer Sala in mortuary

TWO people were in court yesterday accused of leaking mortuary pictures of tragic footballer Emiliano Sala.

Christopher Ashford, 62, of Calne, Wilts, and Sherry Bray, 48, of Corsham, Wilts, are accused of illegally accessing CCTV at Bournemouth Mortuary and viewing the postmortem of the Cardiff City ace as well as that of a Dorset grandfather.

Ashford is said to have watched Sala’s autopsy six times over a 48-hour period. Bray is accused of viewing it live on February 7 and distributing an image of Sala from the investigation.

Prosecutors allege she deleted pictures of Sala from her phone and told Ashford to “delete the pics”.

She has also been charged with illegally accessing mortuary CCTV to watch a post-mortem of Andrew Latcham, 70, whose body was found in a Dorset river in April last year.

The pair appeared before Swindon magistrates yesterday morning, speaking only to confirm their names and addresses. Neither entered pleas.

They were bailed to appear before Swindon Crown Court on August 9 on charges of computer misuse. Bray is also accused of perverting justice and sending an offensive message.

Sala, 28, died in January when a plane taking him to Cardiff crashed into the English Channel. An autopsy was carried out at Holly Tree Lodge Mortuary, Dorset, on February 7.

A week later, police were alerted to an image of the Argentina international and £15million Cardiff FC signing onTwitter.The image was removed but was shared to other sites.

The probe is the first to be brought before the courts by Wiltshire Police’s new digital investigation unit.