Mortuary pair jailed over sick images of dead footballer Sala
Take it as red... autumn’s here
A SECURITY firm boss and an employee who pored over footage of footballer Emiliano Sala’s postmortem examination were branded “appalling” and “morbid” as they were jailed yesterday.
Sherry Bray and Christopher Ashford illegally accessed CCTV footage from the mortuary where the player’s body was taken after he died in a plane crash.
Bray also put pictures of Sala’s body on Facebook and they were seen around the world.
Judge Peter Crabtree jailed Bray for 14 months and Ashford for five months saying they had been “driven by morbid curiosity”.
He added: “You have both abused your positions in a quite appalling way. You both knew it would be a gross intrusion of privacy and respect for the deceased and cause considerable distress to his family if they became aware of that.”
Argentinian international Sala, 28, was killed along with pilot David Ibbotson when their Piper Malibu aircraft plunged into the English Channel in January.
The £15million signing from French club Nantes had been on his way to meet new team mates at Cardiff City FC.
His body was found on February 6 and an autopsy was carried out in Bournemouth the next day. Police were called in a week later after images appeared on social media.
Bray, 49, of Corsham, Wilts, and Ashford, 62, of Calne, Wilts, were arrested and later admitted three counts of securing unauthorised access to computer material.
Bray, a director of Camera Security Services Ltd which had a contract at Bournemouth Mortuary, also admitted perverting the course of justice by telling staff member Ashford to “delete your pics”.
She also disconnected the cameras from the live feed at the mortuary and removed images of the footballer from her mobile phone.
Swindon Crown Court heard how the CCTV footage was replayed six times in 24 hours.
In an impact statement read to the court last week, Sala’s sister Romina said: “I cannot believe there are people so wicked and evil.
“I tried to keep images off social networks. My mother could not see those horrible photos.
“I’ll never erase the images from my head. My brother and mother can never forget about this.”
The court heard Bray had sent a message to Ashford saying: “There’s a nice one on the table for you to watch when you’re next in.”
Robert Welling, prosecuting, said she had played a “pivotal role” in creating a workplace culture where “both she and members of staff would watch as and when autopsies were on the mortuary CCTV footage”. Mr Welling added: “A culture had developed whereby it appears in some ways it was actively encouraged.”
Nicholas Cotter, defending Bray, said: “She fully accepts the distress and upset she’s caused. She does not walk away from that for one second.
“It was never her intention for these photos to be put in the public sphere. She did not intend to cause harm in this case. She should have known better. But she looked in Pandora’s box.”
Thomas Horder, defending Ashford, said the grandfather of four had made the “biggest mistake” of his life.
He said: “Not only is he deeply sorry and remorseful, but someone who is devastated and ashamed of his actions. He did not intend at any point to cause harm to anyone.”
Evidence from Bray’s phone also showed she had taken a picture of the body of Andrew Latchem, a man who died in non-suspicious circumstances.
Mr Latchem’s son Richard said: “Is nothing sacred? Why would you do such a thing? Such a cruel and unnecessary act.”
The Crown Prosecution Service described the actions of Bray and Ashford as “truly appalling”.