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.

This information is only about our local Coroner, you can find out more about the role of a Coroner.

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 13 January 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 13 January 2025	Kirsten Jane Raven	10.10.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	52	Brendan Allen
	Alan Eric Owen	06.12.2024	Southampton	Bridport	1.30pm	55	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 14 January 2025	John Robert Lloyd	03.10.2024	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	74	Brendan Allen
	Brian Samphire	04.01.2025	Dorchester	Wareham	1.30pm	83	Brendan Allen
	William Ingram	03.01.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	64	Rachael Griffin
	Rex Lilley	06.01.2025	Bournemouth	Portland	1.30pm	18	Rachael Griffin
	Ignatius Loyola Harling	08.10.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	69	Rachael Griffin
	Jacqueline  Brenda Mary Richardson	05.01.2025	Poole	Wimborne	1.30pm	82	Rachael Griffin
	Kenneth Aird	22.11.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	77	Rachael Griffin
	Paul Keith Cunningham	25.12.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	60	Rachael Griffin
Wednesday 15 January 2025	Clare Louisa Skevington	29.11.2024	Weymouth	Weymouth	1.30pm	55	Brendan Allen
	James William Wellman	31.10.2024	Weymouth	Weymouth	1.30pm	45	Brendan Allen
	Robert James Ayres	02.01.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	54	Rachael Griffin
Thursday 16 January 2025	Jack Colum Finch	16.10.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30am	30	Brendan Allen
	John Arthur Clasby	30.12.2024	Southampton	Bournemouth	1.30pm	88	Brendan Allen
Friday 17 January  2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 13 January 2025 to Friday 24 January 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 13 January 2025	Brian Edward Allen	31.10.2023	Poole	Poole	10.00am	84	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 14 January 2025	Brian Edward Allen	31.10.2023	Poole	Poole	10.00am	84	Brendan Allen
	Mark Anthony Robert Kimber	28.04.2024	Bridport	South Petherton	2.00pm	60	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 15 January 2025	Marjory Lee	26.10.2024	Dorchester	Bridport	2.00pm	88	Brendan Allen
Thursday 16 January 2025	Anthony John Evans	24.04.2024	Wimborne	Bournemouth	2.00pm	81	Brendan Allen
	Wendy Ann Brown	17.09.2024	Southampton	Essex	11.30am	66	Brendan Allen
Friday 17 January 2025	Imogen Maia Moorsom	12.08.2024	Blandford	Blandford	10.00am	20	Richard Middleton
	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	11.00am (PIR)	27	Rachael Griffin
	Joyce Betty Tack	01.06.2024	Poole	Bournemouth	2.00pm	86	Richard Middleton
	Krishna Nanan Maharaj	05.08.2024	Florida	Bridport	2.00pm	85	Rachael Griffin
Monday 20 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	David Thomas Marston	12.04.2024	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	38	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 21 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Richard Clive Jackson	15.09.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	70	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 22 January 2025	Mart Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Robert Elford	03.05.2024	Blandford Forum	Blandford Forum	10.00am	51	Brendan Allen
Thursday 23 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Carlton Patrick John Brown	03.02.2023	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	40	Richard Middleton
Friday 24 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Mary Jane Bartlett	17.07.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	64	Richard Middleton
	Dylon Charles Dean	04.06.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	22	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.