An inquest into the death of Brian Murphy, the teenager killed in a fracas outside a Dublin nightclub in 2000, may not hear evidence from State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy as she did not examine his body following death.
Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday there were queries over whether coroner Dr Brian Farrell could call Dr Cassidy to give evidence as a third party expert.
Dr Farrell told the court it was also undecided whether the inquest may hear evidence from the family's independent forensic expert who will examine medical reports and photographs of him following his death.
Mr Murphy (18) died six years ago following a row outside Club Anabel nightclub in Ballsbridge, Dublin. The original inquest was adjourned pending the trials of four young men who were charged with manslaughter.
After a lengthy trial and appeals by two of the men, none was convicted of manslaughter, although two were convicted of violent disorder.
Remy Farrell, barrister for the Murphy family, told the court yesterday that the family's forensic expert was to examine slides with tissue samples and photographs of Mr Murphy following his death.
Dr Derek Carson, a forensic pathologist, will compile his report before the inquest is next heard briefly on January 17th. The coroner will then hear legal argument on whether Dr Carson should be called to give evidence but he said it remained to be determined "whether a coroner has the power to hear from an expert witness" such as Dr Carson as he did not carry out Mr Murphy's postmortem.
Mr Farrell said that as Dr Cassidy did not examine Mr Murphy either, "difficulties may arise" with her being permitted to give evidence.
Then state pathologist Prof John Harbison carried out the postmortem on Mr Murphy. In his report, he concluded that Mr Murphy died from swelling of the brain due to severe facial injuries from an assault. It is unknown if the inquest can hear evidence from Prof Harbison as he is suffering from a long-term illness but procedure would follow that his report be read into the record.
Dr Cassidy's report, compiled from forensic evidence reports, concluded that the injuries sustained by Mr Murphy were "relatively minor" and would not be expected to cause death and that the high level of alcohol in his system was a factor.
Adjourning proceedings, the coroner told Denis and Mary Murphy he hoped in January to set a date for the full inquest into their son's death.