Inquest halted as coroner calls in the police

11 Nov 2008

The coroner responsible for the inquest into the death of a woman who went missing from a care home in Halifax has called in the police to investigate whether key witnesses are telling the truth.

Witnesses had given a number of conflicting reports to the coroner, Roger Whittaker. He announced “Because there is such an alarming divergence of evidence, this will be referred to West Yorkshire Police for investigation into conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perjury.”

Margaret “Peggy” Titchmarsh was 90 when she disappeared from Holme Dene Residential Home, Halifax, in January last year.

Police found her body just a few hundred metres away 16 hours after she went missing. Mrs Titchmarsh was wearing only a summer dress, cardigan and slippers, despite it being the coldest night of the year. She died of hypothermia.

The coroner adjourned the case after hearing conflicting reports from independent witnesses and care home staff.

Three independent witnesses said they had seen a woman matching Mrs Titchmarsh’s description just before 5pm on the night she went missing.

Staff at the care home however reported seeing Mrs Titchmarsh in the home as late as 6.50pm.

Mrs Titchmarsh had lived at the home for around three years. She had left the home on two other occasions, but had been found and returned safely.

It is believed that Mrs Titchmarsh got out of the home through a back door. Neither of the back doors had keypad locks fitted, despite previous risk assessments.

Joanne Ashley of clinical negligence experts Patientlawyers.com said, "A residential home should be a place of safety, where families can feel assured that their loved ones will be cared for and prevented from coming to harm. It is alarming to see that although risk assessments may take place, vital steps are not being taken to ensure serious incidents such as these do not occur."

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