Wednesday 11 July 2012

The Death Certificate of Dr David Kelly

Click this link and you will see a copy of Dr Kelly's "Death Certificate" on Dr Stephen Frost's blog http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/death-certificate-of-dr-david-kelly.html  More correctly it is a "Certified Copy of an Entry Pursuant to the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953".  In common parlance such a document has become known as a "Death Certificate" and for covenience I shall use this term.

Trying to read it is very unkind to the eyes so I am repeating the information it contains below:
  1. Date and place of death    Eighteenth July 2003     Found dead at Harrowdown Hill, Longworth, Oxon.
  2. Name and surname   David Christopher KELLY 
  3. Sex   Male
  4. Maiden surname of woman who has married   ----------
  5. Date and place of birth    14th May 1944    Pontypridd, South Wales
  6. Occupation and usual address    Civil Servant    Westfield, Faringdon Road, Southmoor, Oxon.
  7. (a) Name and surname of informant  (b) Qualification  (c) Usual address   Certificate on inquest adjourned received from N G Gardiner Coroner for Oxfordshire.  Inquest held Fourteenth August 2003. 
  8. Cause of death  1(a) Haemorrhage (b) Incised Wounds to the Left Wrist                           2  Co-proxamol ingestion and coronary artery atherosclerosis
  9. I certify that the particulars given by me above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief ------------------------------------------- Signature of informant
  10. Date of registration   Eighteenth August 2003 
  11. Signature of registrar   Val Farrant Registrar 
The information that has been given on the certificate has led to a lot of concern being expressed and I'll summarise what others or myself have thought about these particulars.

Regarding the date of death it seems to me that the 18th was selected as it was the date on which the body was found.  Dr Hunt though stated that death had likely occurred between 16.15 on the 17th and 01.15 on the 18th.  Therefore it could be argued that there was a greater chance of it having happened on the 17th.  

The place of death being described as 'Found dead at Harrowdown Hill ... ' has raised a few eyebrows, suggesting the possibility that the body had been moved to that location.  In my opinion this is an acknowledgement that the death might not have been suicide and that possibly the body was transferred to the position in which it was found by a third party.  

Saying in "7" : 'Inquest held Fourteenth August 2003' gives the mistaken impression that the inquest was completed on that day although the registrar had previously used the words 'Certificate on inquest adjourned received from N G Gardiner ...'  It's not really satisfactory.

No signature of informant which, to me, invalidates the legality of the document.  I don't approve either of the typed signature of the registrar.

  

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