A Coroner is an independent judicial officer. They are assisted by Coroner’s Officers and secretarial staff.

The Coroner investigates and records the causes and circumstances of all deaths where the cause is unknown, or that was violent or unnatural, or occurred whilst the deceased was in lawful custody.

The information on this page is only about our local Coroner, you can find out more about the role of a Coroner here.

If you are concerned about a death you are entitled to raise these concerns with the Coroner.

Our Office is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm and on Fridays 9am to 3.30pm, except for Bank Holidays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Our address is : Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth. BH2 6DY.

01202 123 900

coroner.service@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

The Coroner's team

The Senior Coroner for Dorset is Mrs Rachael Griffin. The Area Coroner for Dorset is Mr Brendan Allen. The Assistant Coroners are Mr Richard Middleton, Mrs Victoria Cook and Mrs Deborah Rookes. You can contact them at the Coroner's Office.

The Senior Coroner for Dorset covers deaths that occur in the administrative county of Dorset or where the body of a deceased person is found in Dorset, even if they died elsewhere.

The Assistant Coroners act when the Senior Coroner is not available. They have the full powers of the Senior Coroner.

Find out about inquest hearings

You can find all publicly available information here. Please do not contact the Coroner's Court office, staff or police press office as they cannot give you any further information.

In Person Attendance and Remote access for members of the Press and Public

The courts are open to members of the press and the public, except in exceptional circumstances.

If you wish to attend court in person, it would be helpful if you could notify our offices in advance.

Under the current legislation, participants to inquests including interested persons and witnesses are permitted, with the Coroner's approval, to attend remotely.

For anyone wishing to observe remotely, permission from the Coroner may also be granted.

All requests to attend hearings remotely will be placed before the Coroner for approval. In order to allow sufficient time to consider any request please complete the relevant document, with as much detail as possible and submit a minimum of two working days prior to the hearing. The form is accessed by clicking the above link.

The document must then be submitted by email to: coroner.service@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Inquests to be opened week commencing Monday 14 July 2025

Location: Dorset Coroner's Court, Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Time of Hearing	Age	Coroner
Monday 14 July 2025	Craig Lawrence Williams	01.06.2025	Portland	Portland	1.30pm	30	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 15 July 2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Thursday 17 July 2025
Friday 18 July 2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 14 July to Friday 25 July 2025

Location: Dorset Coroner's Court, Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Time of Hearing	Age	Coroner
Monday 14 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence  Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am (P.I.R) 1pm	32	Rachael Griffin
Tuesday 15 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence  Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am	32	Rachael Griffin
	Valerie Trueman	18.04.2025	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	85	Brendan  Allen
	Paul Diggins	12.02.2025	Christchurch	Christchurch	2.30pm	60	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 16 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence  Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am	32	Rachael Griffin
	David Hyde	06.12.2024	Dorchester	Wareham	11.00am	83	Brendan Allen
	Flinn Sessions	09.06.2023	France	Wimborne	12.00pm	22	Brendan Allen
	Cyril Ronald Bishop	21.04.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	75	Brendan Allen
Thursday 17 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence  Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am	32	Rachael Griffin
	Brian Hammerton	17.10.2024	Poole	Bournemouth	10.00am	88	Brendan Allen
	Edward O'Carroll	0.10.2024	Wimborne	Wimborne	10.00am	83	Richard Middleton
	Steven Cocorachio	05.04.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	20	Richard Middleton
Friday 18 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence  Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am	32	Rachael Griffin
	Samantha Lennon	13.12.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	20	Richard Middleton
	Mary Stoneham	01.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	70	Richard Middleton
	June Bartholomew	22.04.2025	Poole	Christchurch	3.00pm	95	Richard Middleton
Monday 21 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am	32	Rachael Griffin
	Nicholas Patrick Kieran Mannion	04.03.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	55	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 22 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am	32	Rachael Griffin
Wednesday 23 July 2025	Sheldon Lawrence Jeans	13.11.2022	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	10.00am	32	Rachael Griffin
	Peter Albery Lynes	25.12.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	86	Brendan Allen
	Dorothy Jean Nommick	02.11.2024	Yeovil	Sherborne	10.00am	92	Richard Middleton
	Kirsten Jane Raven	10.10.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	52	Brendan Allen
	Geoffrey Alan Leyland	15.09.2024	Bournemouth	Poole	2.00pm	79	Richard Middleton
Thursday 24 July 2025	Ripley John Martin	11.02.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	68	Brendan Allen
	Gerald Ludlam	13.02.2025	Portland	Portland	12.00pm (PIR)	65	Richard Middleton
	Clare Louisa Skevington	29.11.2024	Weymouth	Weymouth	2.00pm	55	Brendan Allen
	Susan Knights	15.12.2024	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	2.00pm	62	Richard Middleton
Friday 25 July 2025	Alice Marie Clark	13.12.2024	London	Ferndown	10.00am	15	Richard Middleton
	Nicholas John Lucantoni	19.10.2024	Christchurch	Christchurch	2.00pm	65	Richard Middleton

Complaints about a Coroner's decision or the outcome of an Inquest can only be dealt with through proceedings in the High Court. The Coroner's office can explain the procedure, but cannot give legal advice. If you are researching past cases you have to apply to the Coroner in writing first before you can be given the information you are requesting.

Requests for more information

For more detailed information and/or copies of documents, you need to explain your relationship to the deceased and why you want the information.

Feedback and complaints

All complaints about the administration of the Dorset Coroner Service, or the conduct of individual coroners or their officers should first be raised by writing to the senior Coroner.

The Coroner cannot normally discuss cases which she is or has been involved with, but comments and suggestions on improving the Coroner Service are always welcome.