The inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley, the mum-of-two from Lancashire who went missing in January, has opened at the County Hall, Preston. Dr James Adeley, Senior Coroner for Lancashire, presided over proceedings throughout Monday.
Ms Bulley, 45, vanished after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school, and then taking her usual dog walk along the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27. Her phone, still connected to a work Teams call, was found on a bench overlooking the water. Her body was found in the River Wyre around a mile from the bench, on February 19.
The County Hall in Preston was busy with members of the public and media on Monday morning ahead of the two-day hearing.
Ms Bulley’s family is being represented at the inquest by solicitor Terry Wilcox, of Hudgell Solicitors, and Sophie Cartwright KC, of Deans Court Chambers.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “Her family are hopeful, and confident, that the inquest process will establish the true facts, a clear timeline of what happened, and how Nicola died. Her family will not be making any comment until all evidence has been heard, and until the Coroner has delivered his conclusion.”
Ms Bulley’s family was addressed by the coroner at the start of the day. Dr Adeley told members of her family who were in court: “I’m sorry that you are attending this court under these circumstances.” He said that the family wanted him to refer to Ms Bulley as Nikki during the hearing.
Here, we sum up the key points from day one of the hearing.
Nicola was 'alive when she fell into the water'
Ms Bulley died as a result of drowning and was alive when she fell into the water, a Home Office pathologist said. Dr Alison Armour, giving evidence at an inquest, said watery fluid and fragments of dirt found inside Ms Bulley’s body were “typical features we see in cases of drowning”.
She added: “I conclude the cause of death as drowning. The lungs themselves showed classical features we see in drownings. In my opinion Nicola Bulley was alive when she entered the water.”
No signs Nicola harmed
Ms Armour said there were no bleeding in the brain or natural diseases, only normal therapeutic levels of medication in her body and the low level of alcohol was consistent with this being the result of the natural process of decomposition of her body.
There was some bruising to Ms Bulley’s body, but these did not contribute to her death, the inquest was told. Dr Adeley asked the witness: “Is there any evidence of third-party involvement playing any part in her death?” Ms Armour replied: “No, there was not.”
Ms Bulley had not been drinking before her death. Dr Adeley, asked Dr Armour: “At the time of her death she had no alcohol in her bloodstream?” Dr Armour replied: “That’s my opinion.”
Police expert says Nicola fell in before floating downstream
A police underwater search specialist said he believes Ms Bulley fell into the River Wyre before floating downstream. A video of PC Matthew Thackray in St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire, where Ms Bulley is believed to have fallen in, was shown to the court.
In it he said: “There is a large vertical slope from the bench and into the water. “On the day there was a steady flown downstream.” He went on: “The river was 4C, so almost freezing, and if she fell in the muscles would probably seize making it difficult to swim properly.” He estimated she would have floated at a “metre a second” downstream.
'Lethal dose' of water
Two breaths of water would have been a “lethal dose” for Ms Bulley, an expert has told her inquest. Professor Michael Tipton said: “We estimate the temperature would have been around 3 to 5C (in the River Wyre), so there would be a particularly powerful cold-shock response. “For somebody of Nicola’s size, it would have taken one or two breaths in of water to be a lethal dose.”
Passer-by saw Nicola on morning she disappeared
A mother who bumped into Ms Bulley on the morning of her disappearance said there was “nothing of concern”. Kay Kiernan, a receptionist, told the inquest she spoke to Ms Bulley about her dog Willow while dropping off her children at school at just after 8.30am.
She said: “She was not happy, but who is on a Friday-morning school run? She wasn’t sad, just how I normally knew her.” Ms Kiernan went on: “There was nothing of concern.”
Woman found Nicola's dog on the loose
A woman has described the moment she discovered Ms Bulley’s phone and dog, Willow. Penny Fletcher, who runs a nearby campsite, told the inquest: “I saw a springer spaniel loose, it was near the bench and going right towards the river where it drops down very steeply.
“I wouldn’t say it was acting chaotic at all, it was a bit giddy, yes.” Ms Fletcher found the phone, as well as a dog harness, and tied Willow to the bench. She later found out it was Ms Bulley’s dog and heard that she had gone missing.
Nicola's partner had said 'she's struggling' after dog was found
Ms Bulley’s partner said “she’s struggling” after finding out her phone and dog were discovered by a bench, the inquest heard. Susan Jones, a retired careworker, told the court that at around 10am on January 27 she received a call from Penny Fletcher, who had discovered Willow and the phone.
She then bumped into Anne-Marie, Ms Fletcher’s daughter-in-law, who recognised a photograph of Ms Bulley and her family on the phone lock screen. She then rang the local school, before speaking to Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell. Ms Jones told the inquest: “Anne-Marie spoke on the phone and said that he (Mr Ansell) said ‘she’s struggling’.”
Women 'heard scream' on morning Nicola vanished
Two women told the inquest of hearing a scream near the riverside on the morning she vanished. Nurse Helen O’Neill said she was with her dogs in the garden of her house on Allotment Lane, not far from a path that leads to the bench overlooking the River Wyre where Ms Bulley disappeared.
She told the inquest: “I heard a scream, it’s not an alarming noise, it was just over in a couple of seconds. I’m quite used to hearing the children in the school out back, but it was not that noise.
“I vividly remember thinking it’s unusual at this time. In my head, I had two females, walking along by the river and one jumped out on the other. I didn’t think anything of it until later on. There were no other sounds for me to be concerned about.”
A second witness, Veronica Claesen, a housewife and club secretary for the village tennis club, said: “I was just about to get into the car and I heard a scream. A very short scream and my immediate thought was, ‘Somebody is having a bit of fun at the back of the graveyard’.”
Ms Claesen said it was an “inhale scream” like a sharp intake of breath.
Car keys and watch found with her body
Ms Bulley’s Fitbit watch and car keys were recovered along with her body, a senior police officer who investigated her disappearance said. Asked what was found with her body on February 19, Lancashire Police Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith told the inquest: “Her Fitbit watch and her set of Mercedes car keys.”
Watch stopped recording steps at around 9.30am
Ms Bulley's Fitbit watch stopped recording steps beyond 9.30am on the day she disappeared, a digital specialist for Lancashire Police said.
DC Keith Greenhalgh told the inquest: "Nicola Bulley's iPhone was recovered from a bench. The phone was intact and there was no sign that it had been in the water."
Speaking about her Fitbit watch, he went on: "My initial thoughts were that the device lost power on February 4, 2023." He said there were no further steps recorded beyond 9.30am on January 27.
Nicola 'fell into water between 9.18am and 9.30am'
DC Keith Greenhalgh said he believed Ms Bulley fell into the water between 9.18am and 9.30am. He told the inquest analysis of her iPhone and Fitbit watch data suggests she "very possibly" entered the water at 9.22am on January 27.
