His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull is Professor Paul Marks. The Area Coroner is Lorraine Harris.
The location of the coroner’s office is -
The Guildhall
Alfred Gelder Street
Hull
HU1 2AA
The Coroners Courts are also located in The Guildhall. This is where all inquest hearings will take place.
The role of the coroner
The East Riding and Hull Coroner's Service looks into someone’s death if they died within the East Riding of Yorkshire or Hull area, and -
- the cause of death is unknown
- the death was violent or unnatural
- the person died in -
- prison
- police custody
- other state detention
Where necessary, a death will be referred to the coroner by -
- police
- hospital doctors
- GPs
- registrars
Coroner's Officers will be the main point of contact for the deceased's family and next of kin. They will gather information for the coroner from -
- family
- police
- doctors
- mortuary staff
- hospital bereavement staff
- funeral directors
They will also get information and documents from those who may have been involved in the death. These can be people such as witnesses, or those a coroner decides is an ‘interested person’ in the investigation. The coroner’s officers for the East Riding and Hull Coroners Service are employed by Hull City Council.
Inquests
An inquest is a public court hearing for the coroner, sometimes with a jury, to decide -
- who died
- how
- when
- where the death happened
Not all deaths which are investigated by a coroner need to have an inquest.
An inquest is different from other types of court hearing. There is no prosecution or defence and only the coroner can decide what evidence to hear. The purpose of the inquest is to discover the facts of the death. The coroner's court does not determine criminal liability by a named person or civil liability.
Inquest dates
You are able to download information relating to scheduled inquests. Occasionally an inquest can be postponed at short notice. If you want to check that the inquest is going ahead as planned, contact the office by emailing coronersoffice@hullcc.gov.uk.
Attendance at Inquest Hearings
If you are asked to give evidence at the hearing, you will be expected to attend. If you think this will be too difficult you should discuss this with the Coroners Officer. You do not need to attend an inquest if you are not giving evidence. This is entirely your decision.
Family members and friends are welcome to attend court. They can hear evidence and ask questions if they are unsure about anything.
Members of the public may attend, and the media are allowed to report on proceedings.
Information about attendance at Inquest Hearings and availability of remote access is available to download.