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 10 November 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 10 November 2025
Tuesday 11 November 2025
Wednesday 12 November 2025
Thursday 13 November 2025
Friday 14 November 2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 10 November to Friday 21 November 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 10 November 2025
Tuesday 11 November 2025	Dorcas Annette Merrifield	04.05.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	77	Richard Middleton
	Bruno De Amorin Souza De Almeida	09.01.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	12.00pm	29	Debbie Rookes
	Michael Richard Stebbings	20.08.2025	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	76	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 12 November 2025	Bruno De Amorin Souza De Almeida	09.01.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	12.00pm	29	Debbie Rookes
Thursday 13 November 2025	Jacqueline Nellie Singleton	09.04.2025	Bournemouth	New Milton	10.00am (PIR)	83	Richard Middleton
	Sidney John Matthews	13.04.2025	Portland	Portland	2.00pm	90	Brendan Allen
	Geoffrey Neil Wyatt	14.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	3.00pm	69	Brendan Allen
Friday 14 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2023	Weymouth	Weymouth	11.00am (PIR)	15	Rachael Griffin
	Alan Douglas McCoy	10.06.2025	Portland	Portland	11.00am	82	Richard Middleton
	John Edward Willis	30.07.2025	Wimborne	Wimborne	2.00pm	77	Richard Middleton
	Heather June Hyde	18.08.2025	Dorchester	Beaminster	3.00pm	52	Richard Middleton
Monday 17 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	Jacob Saxton-Upton	13.06.2023	Poole	Sutton-In-Ashfield	10.00am	3 months	Brendan Allen
	John Baldock	26.11.2024	Christchurch	Bournemouth	10.00am (PIR)	85	Richard Middleton
	Ricky Keith Barter	03.03.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	60	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 18 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	William Walter Henderson	15.05.2025	Bournemouth	Ferndown	10.00am	91	Brendan Allen
	Simon Jon LeCras	15.03.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	50	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 19 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
			Treasure	Inquest
	Gilt Silver Crucifix Pendant	21.05.2023	T424	Buckland Newton	2.00pm		Brendan Allen
Thursday 20 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	Geoffrey Talbot Morris	10.06.2024	Portland	Portland	10.00am	83	Brendan Allen
	Chanel Azran	09.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	35	Richard Middleton
	Michael John Bradbury	31.01.2025	Bridport	Bridport	2.00pm	61	Richard Middleton
Friday 21 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	Michal Radoslaw Baranski	26.08.2025	Christchurch	Bournemouth	10.00am	38	Richard Middleton
	Katherine Susan Jane Powell	25.01.2022	Bridport	Kenilworth	11.00am (PIR)	17	Brendan Allen
	Jack Michael Williams	25.01.2022	Bridport	Bridport	11.00am (PIR)	18	Brendan Allen
	John Hamblin	25.08.2025	Yeovil	Yeovil	11.00am	84	Richard Middleton
	Gary John Bootle	28.08.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	49	Richard Middleton
	John Michael Hastings	29.08.2025	Sturminster Newton	Sturminster Newton	3.00pm	74	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.