The relatives of a high-ranking officer who tragically took his own life at Ballymun Garda station six years prior, fervently wish for his professional pressures to be investigated during his impending inquest, stated their legal advocate.
The late Det Supt Colm Fox, formerly of Malahide, Co Dublin, was discovered lifeless in his office on the 10th of February, 2018. He undertook the primary investigation role into the 2016 armed onslaught on the Regency Hotel in North Dublin. This devastating episode, which amplified the conflict between the Kinahan and Hutch crime syndicates, led to the assassination of David Byrne, a confederate of the Kinahan gang.
On behalf of Det Supt Fox’s grieving widow, Edel Fox, attorney Mark Harty SC, acting upon instruction from Fahy Bambury solicitors, voiced to the Dublin District Coroner’s Court this Tuesday that the bereaved family desires the November-scheduled inquest to scrutinise the professional strains experienced by Colm Fox at the time of his death.
Dr Myra Cullinane, the coroner, expressed that aspects of Det Supt Fox’s work were irrefutably bound to his heartbreaking demise and wishes the evidence during the inquest to be cautiously dealt with due to its inevitable exposure in public court.
Mr Harty additionally noted the need for certain pieces of evidence, that remain censored before the inquest, to potentially be revealed in entirety for the proper conduct of inquest proceedings. The family would consent to this, he said.
In contrast, Eoin Sreenan BL, representing An Garda Síochána, stated his client holds reservations about whether parts of the content in the documents fall within the inquest’s remit.
Dr Cullinane expressed that any paperwork or documents left by an individual whose death is scrutinised in an inquest fall under coroner’s jurisdiction. An Garda Síochána should not determine whether these documents are censored or uncensored, she stated, as this could give rise to speculation and mistrust, which she wishes to prevent.
She mentioned that coroners frequently have access to records left behind by the deceased at their time of death. Sometimes these documents may support specific verdicts as they might unveil the intentions of the deceased when they died. However, it’s not usually customary for the court to publicly discuss the content of these records.
The court learnt that the original texts of the pertinent letters were returned to the Fox family by Dr Cullinane and were in their custody. The Coroner’s office has received 55 witness statements regarding Det Supt Fox’s death, and Dr Cullinane stated that while she may not call for all the witnesses during the inquest, some testimonies may be read into the proceedings’ official record.
She mentioned that the evidence to be heard in the inquest would focus on the week leading up to Det Supt Fox’s death and the events of February 10th, 2018, the day he died. She did not plan to bring up Det Supt Fox’s case again until the comprehensive inquest hearing on November 18th, which is anticipated to last for three days.
Det Supt Fox’s wife, Ms Fox, as well as other relatives, attended the Tuesday court session. She had previously filed a High Court lawsuit against the State regarding her husband’s death and his work conditions during that time.
Det Supt Fox had succumbed during the Special Criminal Court case of Patrick Hutch, who was on trial for the murder of Byrne. Although Hutch from Champion’s Avenue, Dublin 1, had pled not guilty, the case fell apart in February 2019 due to Det Supt Fox’s death. No convictions have been made regarding Byrne’s murder.