The family of a Bristol teenager who died after stepping in

to split up a rowing couple may have to wait three months to

bury him.

Joseph Dymond-Williams' body will not be released by the

coroner until separate autopsies have been carried out on

behalf of all the legal teams involved in the court case. Joe,

17, of Whitchurch, was in coma for two weeks after he was

beaten and kicked when he tried to intervene in a row between a

girl and her boyfriend in King Street.

Two 17-year-old boys have been charged with murder.

His parents had to make the agonising decision to turn off

his life support machine after doctors at Frenchay Hospital

said he was brain dead.

The St Brendan's Sixth Form College student suffered three

skull fractures in the attack.

The family had hoped to be able to bury him after a Home

Office pathologist carried out a post-mortem examination to

determine the cause of death.

However, two other autopsies have since been ordered by the

solicitors representing the two teenagers accused of his

murder.

Until all the tests have been carried out, the body will

have to be kept at the morgue at Southmead Hospital.

His father John Williams, 44, and mother Gabrielle Dymond,

41, continue to visit his body to pay their respects.

Mr Williams said: “We didn't think things could get any

worse when we turned off the machines – but this is

barbaric.

“Our boy died for nothing and now his body is being

mutilated for no reason other than the rights of the suspects,

which are being put above those of my son.

“We can do nothing to stop this from happening and can only

watch as they do what they like to his body. Family and friends

continue to ask us when we're holding the funeral, but we can't

tell them anything.

“His body is being allowed to slowly deteriorate in the

morgue and all we can do is go and see him every two or three

days.

“We want 100 per cent of him to be buried – but at the

moment he's been cut apart and we've been told it could be

three months before we can bury him.

“It's heart-breaking to see him lying there.”

Lawyers representing the two 17-year-old suspects, who

cannot legally be named, can order their own autopsies to

determine the cause of death.

All post-mortem examinations in this country have to be

carried out by Home Office pathologists.

The Crown Prosecution Service will use the results of the

first post-mortem examination to present the prosecution case

during any future court hearings.

Mr Williams added: “Why do two extra autopsies need to be

done when a post mortem has already been carried out?”

“Before we switched off the machines, there were dozens of

tests, scans and x-rays done to determine whether he would

recover. Those, together with the first post-mortem

examination, are surely enough?

Joe had just finished his first year of A-levels and was a

keen footballer playing for his college team, Yate Town FC and

Bishop Sutton.

He was studying maths, psychology, business studies and

sports studies.

Officials at Avon Coroner's Court said everything was being

done as quickly as possible.

Mike Whitcombe, Avon Coroner's Court manager, said: “The

whole case could be jeopardised if the legal rights of the

defence are not allowed to be carried out.”

Tony Muir, a spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service,

said: “The CPS would like to express deepest sympathy to the

victim's family. We cannot comment on how the legal rights of

the defendants may cause them [the family] further

distress.”

The two 17-year-old boys charged with murder, but who cannot

be named for legal reasons, have been remanded in custody. They

are due to appear at Bristol Crown Court this week.