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Search forThree-month wait to bury Bristol teenager
Monday, July 21, 2008, 07:50
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.
