Caoimhin Cassidy-Crossan was found inside a car which had crashed on the Fairview Road
An inquest into the death of a teenager whose body was found in a burned out car in Derry is “most likely” set to take place next year.
A preliminary hearing was held on Monday for an inquest into the death of Caoimhin Cassidy-Crossan, an 18-year-old who was found on June 1, 2019 inside a car which had crashed on the Fairview Road in Derry.
It was previously reported that a post mortem examination determined Caoimhin was not seriously injured as a result of a crash, and was most likely still alive when the blaze started.
Coroner Anne-Louise Toal told the hearing that previous intentions to hold an inquest into his death had taken “a back seat” to allow for “further investigation” to be carried out.
“I was at a stage where I was hoping to list the inquest about a year-and-a-half ago,” she said. “However, events overtook it and I decided to take a back seat while further investigation was carried out.”
She described the death of the 18-year-old as “somewhat of a complex case” that would likely take a “number of days” to deal with during an inquest, once counsel is in place for the Coroner.
While the Coroner has “some disclosure already”, she told the hearing she is now requesting further materials from the PSNI and the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
The Coroner said she wanted to “touch base” with the family to give “expectations” around the time frame amid “somewhat of a backlog at the moment”.
She said an inquest will be “more than likely” in 2026.
She said she would hope the case could be dealt with “in a number of days” and would hope to “gather pace” once a solicitor is instructed.
A date of January 12 was set for a further preliminary hearing.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
#Inquest #year #death #teen #burnt #crashed #car #Derry
