Injuries that killed a Catholic man murdered by a loyalist mob could have been inflicted in a matter of seconds, an inquiry into his death heard today.
Two or three heavy kicks or punches to the head could have caused the brain damage that led to Robert Hamill’s death, a senior pathologist told the hearing in Belfast.
The public inquiry has been set up to investigate claims that four police officers watched on as a gang subjected the 25-year-old to a sustained and frenzied beating in Portadown town centre more than 10 years ago.
Northern Ireland state pathologist, Prof Jack Crane, said it was possible Mr Hamill’s fatal injuries were sustained very quickly and with relatively few blows.
The length of the assault will be key to investigating allegations the four RUC officers could have intervened but failed to do so.
Mr Hamill, a father of three, died in hospital 11 days after he was attacked while on a night out with friends in April 1997. No one has ever been convicted of his murder.
Prof Crane, who conducted the post mortem examination, found the cause of death to be traumatic diffuse axonal injury (TDAI), which is a tearing or shearing injury caused by the brain rotating within the skull as a result of a high impact.
“Lots of people are kicked in the head and survive so the amount of force required to cause TDAI and the amount of force required to cause unconsciousness needs to be severe,” he said.
But the professor said that did not necessarily mean Mr Hamill sustained numerous blows.
“The more blows the more likely there will be an axonal injury but even a relatively small number of blows, if they were of sufficient force, could have caused severe TDAI,” he said.
He told the inquiry panel there were relatively few external injuries on Mr Hamill when he examined him, with evidence of only three specific wounds on the head and some bruising on the abdomen and left arm.
Charles Adair QC, counsel representing a number of the officers at the centre of the allegations, put it to Prof Crane that there was no evidence to suggest Mr Hamill had sustained any more than two or three blows to the head.
“Yes, I think that’s right,” he replied.
Mr Adair then asked whether the TDAI injury could have been inflicted in a period of seconds.
“Yes, it could,” answered the professor.
Prof Crane said it was his opinion that Mr Hamill sustained the injuries while lying on the ground and said the blows were compatible with kicks or someone jumping on his head.
He said while the injury would not have been caused by simply falling over he explained that an accelerated fall — i.e.when someone hits the ground at a greater rate because they are punched down — could result in TDAI.
However, he said this was unlikely in Mr Hamill’s case as he’d found no evidence of any injuries to the back of the skull.
He also ruled out the claim that a flying bottle could have caused the injury.
“It couldn’t have produced sufficient force,” he said.
Other medical experts who have examined the case have suggested Mr Hamill may have ultimately died of a rare reaction to drugs (neuroleptic malignant syndrome NMS) he was given in hospital and not primarily as a result of the brain injury.
Prof Crane said he was sure NMS was not the cause of death.
“There was brain damage from the outset,” he said. “It wasn’t a case that he was doing well and then developed this (NMS).”
Neuropathologist Dr Brian Herron, who examined Mr Hamill’s brain after the initial post mortem, also gave evidence at today’s hearing.
The expert from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast told the hearing he agreed with Prof Crane’s assessment that there was no evidence of NMS.
Dr Herron said he also concurred that the cause of death was TDAI but admitted the medical world was divided on the force required to inflict the injury.
“There is no debate you can get it in a car crash and there’s no debate you can get it in falls from height but there is debate whether you can get it from a single kick to the head,” he said.
Dr Herron added: “It’s my duty to this hearing to let you know this is controversial and not everyone accepts these theories.”
Both experts also faced questions about why it had taken six months to compile the post mortem report on Mr Hamill.
During this time six men were in custody in connection with the murder.
Dr Herron explained that he examined about 70 such cases on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office every year, for no payment, and that he had to fit them in with his day job caring for patients in the Royal Victoria.
He also said with research on TDAI and MSN in its infancy in 1997 he had to invest a lot of time finding papers on the conditions, without the aid of the internet.
“It takes time to put those things together and get an accurate report,” he said.
Prof Crane said lawyers and police often didn’t understand the lengthy processes that had to be undertaken to ensure a comprehensive post mortem report.
“I take great exception to constantly being pressured by police and lawyers looking for it (post mortem), if they want a detailed report they will have to wait for it,” he said.
The Hamill inquiry, which commenced on Tuesday, will probe allegations that RUC officers not only failed to protect him but also interfered with the subsequent investigation into his murder.
On the opening day the panel heard claims that one officer warned one of the alleged killers to dispose of the clothes he wore during the attack.
Mr Hamill’s family believe he was targeted by bigots who attacked him because he was a Catholic, while his religion also influenced the handling of the case, resulting in a second-class investigation.
The murder was one of the most high profile of the Troubles, with the sectarian killing compared to the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence and the handling of that case by the Metropolitan police in Britain.
The controversy grew after the Hamill family’s solicitor, Rosemary Nelson, who lobbied on the case, was murdered in a loyalist bomb attack amid allegations of security force collusion.
Mr Hamill’s inquiry is being held in Belfast’s Interpoint Centre, where a public inquiry into Mrs Nelson’s death is already ongoing.
PA