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 20 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 20 January 2025	Carl David Wareham	11.01.2025	Bournemouth	Ferndown	1.30pm	77	Brendan Allen
	Mark Anthony Barnes	21.11.2024	Dorchester	Weymouth	1.30pm	60	Brendan Allen
	Elizabeth Doreen Porter	08.01.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	88	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 21 January 2025	Lindsay Alison Everett	08.10.2024	Weymouth	Weymouth	1.30pm	40	Debbie Rookes
	Maurice Edwin Domoney	09.11.2024	Blandford Forum	Blandford Forum	1.30pm	69	Debbie Rookes
	Barrington John Atfield	12.11.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	48	Debbie Rookes
	George Edward Plant	04.01.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	85	Debbie Rookes
	Max Beardmore	27.11.2024	Christchurch	Christchurch	1.30pm	36	Debbie Rookes
	Peter Stanley Reade	08.01.2025	Poole	Ferndown	1.30pm	91	Debbie Rookes
	Radoslaw Michal Szymanski	28.11.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	38	Debbie Rookes
Wednesday 22 January 2025	Craig McArthur Gilbert	07.12.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	44	Debbie Rookes
	Darren William Conroy	05.12.2024	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	44	Debbie Rookes
	Shirley Catherine Hughes	21.12.2024	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	87	Debbie Rookes
	Richard William Matthews	12.01.2025	Dorchester	Bournemouth	1.30pm	71	Debbie Rookes
	Eric Yik Sie Kiat	08.01.2025	Sturminster Newton	Sturminster Newton	1.30pm	45	Debbie Rookes
Thursday 23 January 2025
Friday 24 January  2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 20 January 2025 to Friday 31 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 20 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Daniel 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
	Adrian Paul Johnson	28.06.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	53	Brendan Allen
Friday 24 January 2025	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
Monday 27 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Michael Alexander Scott	12.10.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	35	Brendan Allen
	Nicolas Constantin Borta	16.10.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	11.00am	23	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 28 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Stephen Charles Nottingham	08.06.2024	Dorchester	Dorchester	10.00am	75	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 29 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Gregor Grant	11.10.2023	Portugal	Bridport	10.00am (PIR)	27	Brenan Allen
	Paul Steven Brayshaw	20.08.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	69	Richard Middleton
	Stephen Robert Mantle	22.07.2024	Poole	Poole	11.00am	65	Richard Middleton
Thursday 30 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Bridget Elizabeth Grinter	31.07.2023	Christchurch	Christchurch	10.00am	69	Richard Middleton
Friday 31 January 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Eileen Elizabeth Grinter	31.07.2023	Christchurch	Christchurch	10.00am	69	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.