Fern Foster’s death was verified at around 15:20 on 8 July 2020 at her current accommodation. Fern had received news that day concerning the intended adoption of her child, in circumstances where professional support, including independent advocacy was not physically present at the time, to try to assist Fern with processing the information to safeguard […]
The morning of Day 10 of Fern Foster’s inquest was mostly given over to hearing the evidence of Richard Nash, the Service Director for Children’s Social Care at Buckinghamshire Council. The coroner asked him to move to the witness table and after he took an oath set the scene for those in court. “IPs will […]
The Senior Coroner, Crispin Butler opened Day 10 of Fern’s inquest by welcoming people to court. He gave a warning about sensitive reporting of the circumstances around Fern’s death, most particularly about method. He said there was evidence to be heard this morning, then legal discussions would be made this afternoon, and he was anticipating […]
The second witness on Day Two of Marcus’s inquest was Laura Bolus. The coroner called her at 10:17. She gave an affirmation and confirmed her name for the record. C: What was your role at the time? LB: Activities coordinator C do you need your statement to refresh your memory or do you remember these […]
The first witness on Day 2 of Marcus Hanlin’s inquest was Jack Anderson who was called shortly after 10am. He gave an affirmation and confirmed his name for the record. C: What was your role at the time there? JA: I was the administrator at Cheddar Grove C: Right, thank you. How long had you […]
The final witness who gave evidence on Day One of Marcus’s inquest was the Registered Manager of Brandon Trust Cheddar Grove, Keaton Pullen. The CQC (Care Quality Commission, the health and social care regulator) state the following is the role of a registered manager: Registered managers make sure that people who use services have their needs […]
Katherine Khorsand gave her evidence shortly after midday on Day 1 of Marcus’s inquest. She told the court that she works for Dean Healthcare as an agency nurse. Asked by the coroner how well she knew Marcus she responded “quite well”. KK: I knew Marcus quite well, close to 2 years [can’t hear] he got […]
After a mid morning break on Day 1 of Marcus’s inquest, Nick Stevenson was called to the stand. He gave an oath and confirmed his full name for the court’s record. He told the court that he was a qualified social worker and he was registered with Social Work England. “Unfortunately, I did not know […]
The coroner had earlier checked that Anna wished to read her statement to the court herself. She gave an affirmation and told the court that she was Marcus’s mother, and a retired teacher, lecturer and psychotherapist. She said that Marcus was a “beloved son” and a “beloved brother”. “He meant something very special to his […]
Avon Coroner’s Court is situated next door to the old long stay institution in Bristol, Farleigh Hospital (now a local enterprise park, belying its history as one of the hospitals where an abuse scandal in the 70s led to the ultimate move to close long stay institutions). Court 1 has cream walls and a public […]