A coroner is an independent judicial office holder, appointed by the local authority. Coroners are usually lawyers who work within a framework of law passed by Parliament.  

The law states that certain types of deaths must be reported to the coroner and some cases may result in an investigation either with or without an Inquest.

The Senior Coroner's jurisdiction covers the administrative county of Worcestershire.

HM Senior Coroner for Worcestershire is Mr David Reid.

HM Assistant Coroners are Mrs Deborah Lakin, Ms Sarah Murphy and Mr James Puzey.

What a coroner can do

When a death is reported to the coroner preliminary enquiries will be made to decide if an investigation is required. 

Coroners must investigate a death if there is reason to suspect:

• the death was violent or unnatural
• the cause of death is unknown
• the deceased died while in state detention, for example, police custody or prison, at the time of their death

A coroner's investigation involves establishing the identity of the person who has died; where and when they died and how (not why) the death came about.

The coroner may decide to hold an Inquest as part of the investigation.

Coroners may use information discovered during the investigation to assist in the prevention of other deaths.

Other sections on this website explain the different possibilities more fully and the timescales you can expect. In all cases, the coroner aims to accommodate families' funeral plans while making sure that the investigations are effective and complete.

A guide to the work of the coroner is available from the Ministry of Justice website.

Coroner Officers

The coroner for Worcestershire has a team of six investigative officers based at the Coroners Court in Stourport on Severn. Coroner’s Officers receive reports of deaths in the community, hospitals, other care settings and state detention and make appropriate inquiries at the direction of the coroner.  

One Coroner’s Officer will usually maintain responsibility for investigating a death from the initial report to the end of the coroner’s involvement and will therefore normally be your single point of contact. 

Support Officers

The coroner is also supported by two support officers who complete all the administrative tasks on behalf of the coroner.