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, Mr Grant Davies, 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 25 November 2024

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 25 November 2024	Heidi Dominiqua Sheehan	18.11.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	49	Rachael Griffin
	Verena Dalling	19.11.2024	Broadstone	Broadstone	1.30pm	86	Rachael Griffin
Tuesday 26 November 2024
Wednesday 27 November 2024
Thursday 28 November 2024
Friday 29 November 2024

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 25 November 2024 to Friday 06 December 2024

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 25 November 2024	Daniel Thomas Marston	12.04.2024	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	38	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 26 November 2024
Wednesday 27 November 2024	Alexander Kieran Ari Channing	27.01.2022	Poole	Exeter	10.00am (PIR)	18	Richard Middleton
	Jack Michael Williams	25.01.2022	Bridport	Bridport	11.00am (PIR)	18	Brendan Allen
	Katherine Susan Jane Powell	25.01.2022	Bridport	Kenilworth	11.00am (PIR)	17	Brendan Allen
	Oliver John Roberts	28.01.2024	Bournemouth	Fordingbridge	2.00pm (PIR)	29	Rachael Griffin
Thursday 28 November 2024	Ava Lily Scott	07.01.2023	Poole	Wimborne	10.00am	0	Rachael Griffin
	Dorothy Kay Foster	19.01.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	75	Richard Middleton
	Myles Albert Patrick Pinkett	24.04.2024	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	10.00am (PIR)	28	Brendan Allen
	Geoffrey William Riggs	25.07.2024	Poole	Bournemouth	2.00pm	61	Brendan Allen
	Mark Goulding	01.07.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	81	Brendan Allen
Friday 29 November 2024	Ava Lily Scott	07.01.2023	Poole	Wimborne	10.00am	0	Rachael Griffin
	Natasha Eve Lummes	27.07.2024	Dorchester	Dorchester	10.00am	33	Richard Middleton
	Michael Taylor	26.06.2024	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	85	Richard Middleton
Monday 02 December 2024	Ava Lily Scott	07.01.2023	Poole	Wimborne	10.00am	0	Rachael Griffin
	Jonathan Mark Hughes	19.05.2024	Matchams	Ferndown	10.00am	54	Brendan Allen
	Marjorie Askew	06.06.2024	Poole	Broadstone	10.00am	95	Grant Davies
	Susan Mary Farmer	06.06.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	79	Grant Davies
Tuesday 03 December 2024	George William Nicholson	04.05.2024	Wimborne	Wimborne	10.00am	75	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 04 December 2024	Rosemary Angela Mawson	02.01.2024	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	78	Brendan Allen
	William Arthur Michael Barry	21.05.2024	Broadstone	Broadstone	2.00pm	89	Brendan Allen
Thursday 05 December 2024	Gary Vincent Mario Phipps	09.06.2024	Dorchester	Weymouth	10.00am	65	Brendan Allen
	Charanjit Singh Basra	13.02.2024	Christchurch	Christchurch	2.00pm	47	Brendan Allen
	Robert William Flanders	05.02.2024	Dorchester	Bridport	2.00pm	49	Richard Middleton
Friday 06 December 2024	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	11.00am (PIR)	27	Rachael Griffin

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.