A jury hearing evidence at an inquest into the death of a woman who grew up in Bolton has been urged to consider the possibility of returning an unlawful killing conclusion.
County Hall in Preston has heard a four-week long inquest into the death of Kelly Hartigan-Burns, who died after being taken into police custody in 2016. The 35-year-old, who attended Canon Slade School in Bolton, died in the early hours of December 4, 2016, just hours after being arrested in Blackburn.
Lancs Live reports that a jury retired on Tuesday, April 5, to consider their conclusion after hearing all the evidence given during the four-week hearing, with Senior Coroner Dr James Adeley giving a summary of the evidence before warning them their task would be very complex. The hearing had heard evidence that Kelly had been seen stepping in front of traffic saying "I want to die" just hours before her death.
READ MORE:
A 999 call was made by a member of the public and she was found by two officers who responded to the most serious 'Grade One' call but felt she was okay to be taken home. Once there, Kelly’s wife, Collette Hartigan-Burns, told officers that she had been hit by Kelly earlier that day and did not feel safe.
Kelly was arrested on suspicion of assault and taken to Greenbank Police Station, a purpose built custody suite in Blackburn. Tragically, less than an hour after she was placed into Cell C2 at the station, under half hourly observations, Kelly was found unresponsive. She was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital where she died the following day.
Much of the discussions during the inquest have been focused on whether the police officers involved at various stages were aware of Kelly’s history of mental health problems and suicide attempts, and whether they passed that on to the next people dealing with her. Custody sergeant Jason Marsden, who no longer works for the police, said during his evidence that he would have treated Kelly differently and declined detention if he knew more about the earlier events of the evening.
After Dr Adeley recapped the evidence at yesterday's hearing, the coroner addressed the questioning of arresting officer PC Hague, Mr Marsden, evidence from expert witnesses from Lancashire Constabulary and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. He also recapped a statement from wife Collette made to the IOPC nine weeks after Kelly’s death before he informed the jury of their task, which included determining an official record of who had died, when they died and crucially - how they came about their death.
For this, they can give a short form conclusion or a longer, open conclusion which gives more reference to the circumstances leading to her death. The first option they were invited to consider is unlawful killing, which would have to come about as a result of the gross negligence of someone who owed Kelly a duty of care. This, Dr Adeley said, must include a significant breach of the duty of care.
He said that they were not permitted to name any person other than Kelly in the conclusion, but could refer to them by their role or to an organisation as a whole. Alternatively, they are invited to reach verdicts of suicide or accidental death, or to deliver an open conclusion if they do not feel that any of these are appropriate.
The jury deliberations continue.
