Found Deceased UK - Nicola Bulley Last Seen Walking Dog Near River - St Michaels on Wyre (Lancashire), Jan 2023 #18

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abovethestorm said:
He (Dr Adeley) said remaining evidence gathered by police and the post-mortem examination required "further evaluation" and a full inquest was likely to be held in June, once availability of a pathologist had been checked.

He said: "This will allow time to collate the facts of the case and allow the experts involved to finalise the findings from investigations that still need to be undertaken."

Her family were informed of the date of the inquest but had chosen not to attend, coroner Dr James Adeley said.
He said they had done so for "reasons I can quite understand".

www.bbc.co.uk

Nicola Bulley: Police watchdog to probe police visit

The 45-year-old's body was found in a Lancashire river on Sunday after a search of over three weeks.
www.bbc.co.uk
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Thanks for posting. I wonder what “investigations that still need to be undertaken” might be.
 
WestLondoner said:
I have been one of many in the 800-odd pages of these threads who have noted that there were really only four possibilities - fall, self-harm, absconded, abducted. The puzzling question to inexperts has been how in the first two cases a body could take so long to be found.

I don't suppose it will now be possible to know which of the first two possibilities happened.
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If it was self-harm, a few things are in need of an explanation. Not long before she went off radar, she sent what I assume were 'normal' text messages to a friend and to her boss, and then she listened in on a conference call. How to square this with planned self-harm? Was it deliberate sidetracking, for whatever reason? - There is also the possibility that she acted on impulse.
(I repeat: IF it was self-harm, which is by no means a certainty.)
 
Lindengracht said:
If it was self-harm, a few things are in need of an explanation. Not long before she went off radar, she sent what I assume were 'normal' text messages to a friend and to her boss, and then she listened in on a conference call. How to square this with planned self-harm? Was it deliberate sidetracking, for whatever reason? - There is also the possibility that she acted on impulse.
(I repeat: IF it was self-harm, which is by no means a certainty.)
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It’s a possibility that Nicola planned to end her life but wanted to make it look like an accident for the sake of her loved ones. Mundane messages and logging on to a routine meeting would make sense in that context. JMO
EBM for typo
 
Just a general note about the frustration of waiting.
Bear in mind that forensic pathologists are also involved in presenting evidence to criminal courts & not just coroners courts. The criminal courts are backed up post pandemic.

The agencies involved are dealing with multiple ongoing cases in addition to examining their practice retrospectively.

Much as we’ve followed this one case or crime dramas focus on a case at a time, there are all kinds of competing demands on diaries at play in reality & six months between stages isn’t unusual.
 
Please see a statement from HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, Dr James Adeley;

An inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley has been opened by HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen.

The coroner also ruled that her body could be released for a family funeral.

The Coroner's Investigation will consider how Ms Bulley came by her death.

The investigation will take time to complete to ensure that as complete a picture as possible of the facts concerning Ms Bulley's death is presented at the inquest. This will assist the family in understanding what occurred.

As part of this process, HM Senior Coroner has requested Lancashire Constabulary produce information gathered during the search for Ms Bulley so it can be considered as part of the investigation.

Whilst HM Senior Coroner considers this information, Lancashire Constabulary have been asked by HM Coroner not to discuss the case in either social media or the mainstream media.

The inquest has been listed to be heard at 10 AM on 26 June 2023 hours at County Hall, Fishergate, Preston.
 
StillDiggin said:
Please see a statement from HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, Dr James Adeley;

An inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley has been opened by HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen.

The coroner also ruled that her body could be released for a family funeral.

The Coroner's Investigation will consider how Ms Bulley came by her death.

The investigation will take time to complete to ensure that as complete a picture as possible of the facts concerning Ms Bulley's death is presented at the inquest. This will assist the family in understanding what occurred.

As part of this process, HM Senior Coroner has requested Lancashire Constabulary produce information gathered during the search for Ms Bulley so it can be considered as part of the investigation.

Whilst HM Senior Coroner considers this information, Lancashire Constabulary have been asked by HM Coroner not to discuss the case in either social media or the mainstream media.

The inquest has been listed to be heard at 10 AM on 26 June 2023 hours at County Hall, Fishergate, Preston.
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So if her body can be released is it likely that they have established the cause of death? IMO.
 
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I think it would need to be beyond any doubt for a coroner to say it was suicide. My brother went to a remote outdoor place to end it, and did so by cutting a wrist. Even so, the coroner concluded it was 'self-harm' and not suicide, because there was no conclusive evidence he genuinely intended that outcome. He went to a place he would never have been interrupted or rescued, but left no note and had no history of anything similar, so the conclusion was that he might only have intended injury. Unless there is a smoking gun message otherwise, I reckon this will not be put down to suicide.
 
Cuko said:
Not necessarily, IMO. They will presumably have taken all the test samples they need from the body itself and will now be waiting on the results of those tests. JMO
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Thanks - so if there was any suspicious circumstances (unlikely IMO) would we ever find out? Would the police have to announce anything?
 

Nicola Bulley: Police handling of case to be reviewed​

Police handling of the disappearance of Nicola Bulley is to be the subject of an independent review, Lancashire's police and crime commissioner has said.

The review will focus on the investigation and search, communication and public engagement, and the releasing of personal information.

Mr Snowden said the review was "being held because there are questions that, quite rightly, members of the public and across different political spectrums want to have answered about the search, the investigation and around the release of information.

"My job is to hold the police to account for providing an efficient and effective policing service... and now that the investigation and search is concluded it is right we ask those questions around why that information was released and make sure that is properly reviewed," he said.

He said the case was "completely unprecedented in the scale of social media and media interest".

"Overall [Lancashire Police] have done their utmost in what has been a media frenzy at times to get across those key messages but I do think... those messages did not get through at critical times and control was lost over the narrative about why the police were making certain decisions," he said.

"I have therefore taken the decision to commission a full independent review into the handling of this case, with clearly defined terms of reference, to ensure lessons can be learned, not just for Lancashire, but for all forces.

"This includes how such cases can be best investigated and communicated under such spotlight and scrutiny."

It comes as the Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed it has launched an investigation into a police visit to Ms Bulley's home weeks before her disappearance.

www.bbc.co.uk

Nicola Bulley: Police handling of case to be reviewed

Lancashire Police received a backlash for revealing personal details about the missing mother.
www.bbc.co.uk
 
Firstsnow4 said:
Thanks - so if there was any suspicious circumstances (unlikely IMO) would we ever find out? Would the police have to announce anything?
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I think we’d definitely know if the death involved a third party. It would be evident from the cause of death, which is a matter of public record on the death certificate. JMO
 
Not all pathologists that carry out PMs are Home Office Forensic Pathologists. These specialist examiners are called upon for the most involved and complicated deaths, usually of a suspicious nature. Their duties extend far beyond simply finding a cause of death. The entire PM becomes a detailed exercise of evidence gathering, and the HO FP is expected to be able to present this to all parties in the event of a criminal trial. It is far beyond the routine PMs that are carried out several times a day in hospitals all over the UK.
Whichever Pathologist carried out this particular PM, it is highly likely that a mechanical cause of death is now known.
What takes much longer is the wait for the return of various tox screenings.
The Coroner's job is to establish who died, when, where, and how they died. That is not always easy to establish from a PM. Hence the need for laboratory tests, witness statements, history from GPs, phone histories etc etc - all of which take time, and they must be done properly and thoroughly.
Checking 'the availability of the pathologist' is nothing more than physical diary availability for the Inquest date.
Not for the PM, which I suspect was possibly done on Monday.

It might be 21st century but there is still shame, ignorance, and judgement, surrounding suicide. Therefore if it cannot absolutely be proven, that verdict will not be given. Possibly a reason for the increased use of a Narrative verdict.
I know of families who actively campaign for the word 'suicide' NOT to feature on death certificates. They ask why, for instance, the Primary mechanical cause of death not be given, with a Secondary cause of 'depression'.

Things for the future, perhaps ...
 
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Cuko said:
I think we’d definitely know if the death involved a third party. It would be evident from the cause of death, which is a matter of public record on the death certificate. JMO
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Unless she was pushed?

I am not saying that's what I think happened.

But if she was pushed, how would they be able to differentiate it from her entering the river on her own?
 
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