Deputy State Pathologist calls for speedier access to bodies

Doctors in remote areas should be trained to establish the time of death of people who die in suspicious circumstances, the Deputy State Pathologist has said.

Ms Marie Cassidy told delegates at an international conference on forensic science at Dublin Castle yesterday that getting to the scene quickly was vital if the time of death was to be established accurately.

Ms Cassidy said decisions by gardai on who could enter a crime scene were sometimes illogical. It was not unusual for relatives of the deceased, gardai and ambulance personnel to be allowed to inspect the scene before her. Sometimes, gardai would delay her examining the body, even though several people had already looked at it or touched it.

"I'm usually the last person to get into a scene, and then they'll tell me the scene hasn't been disturbed," Ms Cassidy said.

Ms Cassidy worked as a pathologist in Scotland before moving to Ireland. She said it was not unusual in this State for journalists from "three TV stations, four newspapers and [several] radio stations" to be surrounding a body when she arrived. "The first scene I went to here I made the mistake of thinking the photographer nearest the body was a police photographer. No, no. It was a newspaper man."

She favoured training local doctors to be able to establish a time of death. Sometimes she had to travel great distances. "The accuracy decreases as time goes by . . . There should be somebody who can get there quicker."

The conference continues until tomorrow when it will be addressed Mr Barry Scheck, O. J. Simpson's defence lawyer, and campaigning British lawyer Ms Gareth Peirce.

roddyosullivan@ireland.com