Court

How Did They Not See Him?
Probe Into Alleged Police Failures Delays Inquest Over Gold Course Death
Thur 3rd July 2014, Yellow Advertiser

POLICE are being probed over possible ‘misconduct’ in the search for Michael Redmond, whose body was discovered on Basildon Golf Course last August.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has ordered Essex Police to investigate concerns raised by Mr Redmond’s family.

Two internal investigations were launched after the family voiced concerns over officers’ interaction with Mr Redmond before his disappearance, the urgency of the search efforts when he went missing and the failure to quickly locate his body.

Mr Redmond, 47, of The Vale, Basildon, was found on the golf course almost six weeks after he went missing – but the area where he was found had already been searched weeks earlier.

A previous inquest hearing was told police had responded to concerns about his mental state on July 4, the day before he went missing, but decided not to section him.

Officers with sniffer dogs scoured the golf course, where he was last seen alive, in the days after his disappearance – but they called off the search and pursued other lines enquiry.

But specialist search officers returned to the course with Met Police cadaver dogs on August 12 and discovered Mr Redmond’s body within hours.

Chief Inspector Paul Howell, lead investigator in the case, confirmed last August that the body was found in an area already covered in the earlier searched.

A post-mortem examination by Dr Nat Carey failed to determine the cause of Mr Redmond’s death.

Cops who worked the case are now being probed by the force’s Professional Standards Department.

A separate internal investigation by Detective Superintendent Tracy Hawkings has already concluded and a report has been passed to coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray.

Both probes were revealed in a pre-inquest hearing at County Hall last Wednesday, June 25.

The hearing was attended by five representatives from Essex Police, as well as Mr Redmond’s mother Maureen, ex-wife Joanne and daughter Danielle.

Mrs Beasley-Murray told the court Mr Redmond’s family had raised concerns with her in March.

She said: “It had been hoped the inquest would take place on March 27, but the court had just been informed that the matter had been referred to the IPCC. That was because of concerns that you as a family had raised about the search.

“At that last meeting, concerns were raised by the family about the events in the previous few days and Mr Redmond’s contact with the police.”

Speaking at last week’s hearing, Mr Redmond’s mother levelled further criticism at police. She told the court she did not want a ‘witch hunt’ against Essex Police, but simply wanted justice for her son.

She said: “We wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t a witch hunt, but we do need to have justice and we do need for it to be made clear there were assumptions made about my son from one witness statement, which put a shadow over the whole investigation and which has not been substantiated by anyone else.

“Maybe if people had taken things more seriously, we would have found him sooner and we would have had a clear picture of how he died.”

It was not made clear what assumption she was referring to.

Detective Inspector Tracy Wheeler, of Essex Police’s Professional Standards Department, told Mrs Beasley-Murray her probe was ‘two-thirds’ complete.

Mrs Beasley-Murray ordered DI Wheeler to hand her finished report to the coroner’s office and Mr Redmond’s family by July 21.

She advised Mr Redmond’s family to consider hiring a solicitor to represent them during the inquest, which was scheduled for August 26.

She promised the inquest would be ‘full, fair and fearless’.

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