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 24 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 24 November 2025
Tuesday 25 November 2025
Wednesday 26 November 2025
Thursday 27 November 2025	Natasha Chaffey	26.05.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	30	Brendan Allen
	Karin Morgan	14.10.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	63	Brendan Allen
	Brenda Irene Harrow	26.09.2025	Christchurch	Christchurch	1.30pm	85	Brendan Allen
	Janet Ann Woodham	18.11.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	78	Brendan Allen
	David Christopher Proctor	18.10.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	56	Brendan Allen
Friday 28 November 2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 24 November to Friday 05 December 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 24 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2023	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	David Hugh Atherley	13.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	47	Richard Middleton
	Alistair Thomas Moss	01.06.2025	Poole	Swanage	11.00am	22	Brendan Allen
	Philip Charles Schebesta	21.09.2025	Dorchester	Bridport	2.00pm	73	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 25 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2023	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	Robert William Anderson	21.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	42	Brendan Allen
	Rebecca Louise Gates	01.05.2025	Wimborne	Wimborne	10.00am	52	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 26 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2023	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	John Patrick McGovern	13.06.2024	Dorchester	Portland	10.00am	58	Richard Middleton
Thursday 27 November 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2023	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	Joshua Thomas Altoft	17.02.2025	Portland	Portland	10.00am	29	Richard Middleton
Friday 28 November 2025	Andrew Buckle	02.06.2025	Christchurch	Christchurch	2.00pm	49	Richard Middleton
	Gregory Anthony Inwood	05.07.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	3.00pm	71	Richard Middleton
Monday 01 December 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2023	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	Thomas Michael Taylor	12.01.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	33	Brendan Allen
	Richard O'Regan	04.06.2025	Gillingham	Gerrards Cross	10.00am	46	Richard Middleton
	Pratima Bade	09.09.2025	Bridport	Bridport	12.00pm	34	Richard Middleton
	Lee Watkinson	12.03.2025	Poole`	Bournemouth	2.00pm	51	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 02 December 2025	Roxy Edie Paula Phillips	23.03.2023	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	15	Rachael Griffin
	Paulina Szafert	09.06.2025	Christchurch	Christchurch	10.00am	41	Richard Middleton
	Phulbaaiya Santoke	05.06.2025	Poole	Poole	11.00am	76	Richard Middleton
	Ignatius Loyola Harling	08.10.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	69	Brendan Allen
	Terrence Joseph O'Brien	04.07.2025	Southampton	Bournemouth	2.00pm	43	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 03 December 2025	Lisa-Marie Daley	04.06.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	41	Richard Middleton
	Stanislaw Czeslaw Gebski	31.03.2025	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	60	Brendan Allen
Thursday 04 December 2025	Jasmin Azura Jennifer Winthrop	28.01.2025	Saint James	Poole	10.00am	25	Rachael Griffin
	Jason Lee Bright	03.06.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	50	Richard Middleton
	Anthony Roy Weeks	19.05.2025	Poole	Verwood	2.00pm	81	Brendan Allen
	Stephen William Clarke	08.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	54	Richard Middleton
Friday 05 December 2025	David Reynard	23.08.2025	Poole	Bournemouth	10.00am	67	Richard Middleton
	Zachary Spencer Roe	25.03.2024	East Woodyates	Andover	11.00am (PIR)	9	Rachael Griffin
	William Alexander McClure	18.09.2025	Bournemouth	Wolverhampton	11.00am	31	Richard Middleton
	Philip James Reeves	10.06.2025	Poole	Bournemouth	2.00pm	97	Richard Middleton
	Elizabeth Agnes Marianne Hart	29.06.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	3.00pm	84	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.