. . . only two can when Kerry died’
‘showed signs of her moving in any way’ but that ‘this wasn’t the case.’
“So I cannot say if she was profoundly unconscious or already deceased,” he added.
The coroner in his conclusion said it ‘could not be ascertained to the required standard’ whether she was alive or dead when she was moved.
The hearing was told a total of 23 injuries, deemed to be ‘minor and superficial’, were found on her body.
Asked by the family if these could indicate an assault whilst alive, Dr Wilson said: “I really don’t think there has been one. There’s certainly no objective evidence of an assault. But I cannot completely rule that out. If there has been it was certainly a minor one which didn’t cause or contribute to her death.”
Detective Inspector Emma Hulston, who led the investigation, told the court officers had gleaned from statements from witnesses that Kerry had visited an ex-partner’s house to see a puppy before leaving at around 2am in the early hours of July 14.
She then got in a car bound for Blackpool, but didn’t make it all the way and she was dropped back at the 100 Steps in Rochdale.
DI Hulston said one witness, Asim Rashid, had told them Bullen walked past as they sat there and ‘said hello and asked if they wanted to go into the flat?’ and that Kerry went with her.
She returned around 40 minutes later and collected her bag and promised to return but didn’t so Mr Rashid went to the flat and says Kerry was ‘lying on the floor’ and that ‘Mel and some guy were on the sofa’.
He said she later fell asleep and was ‘snoring very loudly’ and that he tried to wake her as he wanted to leave but couldn’t, but was assured by the pair she ‘would be okay.’ He left around 3pm on Friday, July 14, which was the last day she was seen alive.
The last time Kerry’s bank card was used was on that date. Officers have been unable to get into her mobile phone due to a pin lock. Halliwell and Bullen were both arrested on suspicion of murder on
July 19 last year whilst Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) Major Incident Team pieced together what had happened, the inquest was told.
Halliwell said Bullen was a ‘friend’ of Kerry’s and he met her through her, but had only known her around five to six days. He said they had been taking drugs including heroin, crack cocaine and diazepam.
He said he did not share any of his drugs with her, but she shared some of hers with him.
He said in his statement to police that on a Saturday night (July 15), Kerry ‘wasn’t breathing properly’ DI Hulston said. He said Bullen ‘gave her two breaths’ and that ‘she appeared to start breathing again but didn’t wake up’. He said the pair continued to take drugs and then when they woke in the morning they ‘realised she hadn’t moved and was cold’.
He said they ‘made the joint decision to move the body from the flat’. He said he couldn’t explain why other than that he was ‘high on drugs and panicking’. He described their actions as ‘despicable’.
Coroner Mr Salt said: “Steps should have been taken by these in relation to the care of Kerry when she was there at their flat on Saturday and Sunday, over that weekend. What is the police view in relation to that aspect of matters?”
DI Hulston said: “They had a moral duty to call an ambulance for Kerry, to call the police, or at least get some medical assistance. But it’s not a legal duty for them, to do that. As despicable as it is that they didn’t, unfortunately, its not a criminal offence and it’s not something we can prosecute them for.”
DI Hulton said they had shown ‘a complete lack of respect and a complete disregard for the dignity of Kerry’.
She said they had ‘concealed’ evidence in a bid to ‘frustrate the police investigation’.
She said there was ‘no evidence Melanie Bullen and Robert Halliwell are responsible for the death of Kerry Newman’, including there being ‘no evidence she was administered drugs by them or any others’.
She added that there
‘The actions we have heard about are absolutely appalling, from these two people, at least one of whom has been described as a friend’
ASSISTANT CORONER MICHAEL SALT
was ‘no evidence she sustained her identified injuries as the result of an assault’.
Ultimately, she said she had concluded there was ‘no evidence of any suspicious circumstances or third party involvement in the death of Kerry Newman’.
“As to what happened in the flat, I cannot say,” the coroner added. “We can only go off the evidence we were given at the time. She was vulnerable, I am not disputing that she wasn’t engaging with services at the time of her death.
“Only three people were present at the flat at the time. Only Melanie and Rob can tell us what happened. They gave us their accounts and we’re not going to get any more from them.”
Kerry’s family raised a concern they had that she may have been ‘sex trafficked and was being used to pay for drug debts’ and asked if that had been investigated.
DI Hulston said: “There’s no evidence of that, that has come before police. We knew she was a sex worker and has had a history of that.
“There’s nothing documenting that the reason why she was a sex worker was that she was being coerced into it to pay off drug debt. That’s never been part of the evidence.”
Mr Salt said: “Addiction is a health issue, its not a crime. But drugs, especially Class A substances, are extremely harmful and sadly that’s had a massive impact on this relatively young lady.
“In terms of the enquiry itself, I’m sure the police would have loved nothing more than different evidence from Dr Wilson which could have meant more serious charges could have been preferred.
“The actions we have heard about, are absolutely appalling, from these two people at least one of whom has been described as a friend.”
Giving a conclusion that her death was ‘drugrelated’, he said: “The deceased’s body was found on a pathway near New Barn Lane at 4.20am on July, 17, 2023. She had been placed there at 1.35am by associates she had earlier taken drugs with. Pathological and other evidence could not ascertain, to the required standard, if she was alive or not prior to being placed on the pathway.”