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Media Barred from Emma McManus’ Inquest

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Caroner Graveney Bannister
Caroner Graveney Bannister

In December 2020 Emma McManus the former wife of John Paul McManus and the son of JP McManus died while holidaying at the plush Sandy Lane Estate at one of the villas. JP McManus is known to be one of the owners of the world class property.

Of interest to the blogmaster is the decision to stage inquest into the death of Emma McManus in camera. The high court had previously held that the case should be held in private and Caroner Magistrate Graveney Bannister upheld a request from McManus’ lawyers to remove the press from the room. Interesting the decision came at the point the toxicology report was about to be shared in the proceedings.

From all reports it seems the McManus legal team has a problem with Caroner Graveney Banister. The bane of contention with the goodly magistrate is a disputed phone call between John Paul McManus and Bannister after Emma McManus’ death, where it is alleged the partying group that included the late Emma McManus had been snorting cocaine. John Paul McManus latter clawed back from the alleged reported statement to Bannister. WHY THE HELL WOULD MAGISTRATE BANISTER MAKE UP SUCH A STATEMENT IS WHAT INQUIRING MINDS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.

The saying that something smells rotten in Denmark seems very appropriate to anyone following the coroner’s inquiry into Emma McManus’ death. 

The blogmaster is all about transparency and justice. That a rich foreigner would accuse an officer of the local court of telling a lie is big news. This blogmaster has been patient since the news broke in December 2020 waiting for an outcome, however, it seems this is one of those matters that will be moved on the roster until the matter fades from public interest. What the blogmaster would do to secure a copy of the toxicology report. If the report identified cocaine or some narcotic traces in the body of Emma McManus at the time of her death it would support the contentious statement that illegal drugs were being consumed AND that alleged conversation took place?

One can speculate if the inquest involved a member of the blue collar community the decision to switch to in camera to shield proceedings from the public would be a moot consideration. The blogmaster is aware there is keen interest from the outside world in the matter and how it eventually turns out has implications for how onlookers will view the delivery of justice in Barbados. Hopefully this is not a case of a small country being bullied by the money class.

The other inquiry ongoing into the death of Stewart Mottley, brother of Prime Minister Mottley in June 2021 is also of interest. The fact the matter is being prosecuted by the Elliot Mottley, father of the deceased is also interesting. The blogmaster will reserve comment on the matter for now and take the opportunity to extend condolences to Prime Minister Mottley and family.

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110 responses to “Media Barred from Emma McManus’ Inquest”

  1. INDIAN MEDICAL STUDENT DIES BY SUICIDE AT BRIDGETOWN #2Barbados Underground

    […] Arising from the story it was reported in the traditional media on the 20 April 2023 local police confirmed the matter was being investigated. The also confirmed what is generally known- an autopsy will have to be performed to determine the cause of death. The blogmaster takes this opportunity to issue a gentle reminder about a related matter stuck in the ‘system’ – Media Barred from Emma McManus’ Inquest. […]

  2. David Avatar
    David

    What is the latest on the Emma McManus Inquest?

    Inquest review to resume next month

    THE JUDICIAL REVIEW OF Magistrate Graveney Bannister’s decision in his Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Warren Mottley has been adjourned until next month.
    When it resumes, Magistrate Bannister is expected to face crossexamination from the legal team representing Dr Sahle Griffith.
    It was on December 23, last year, that Magistrate Bannister found that the conduct of the two doctors who treated Mottley amounted to a criminal act.
    No fault of juniors
    In addition he determined there was “gross” negligence exhibited by Griffith and anaesthesiologist Dr Nigel Farnum in Mottley’s care and that junior doctors could not be blamed.
    “Warren Mottley went into Surgical Solutions for a routine colonoscopy, a routine procedure but he did not come out. That should not have happened if due care had been used,” the Coroner declared.
    “Having reviewed the evidence before this inquest, in my view it was a failure to diagnose or misdiagnose; a failure to treat the infection or shock. It was breach of duty which gave rise to an obvious and serious risk of death. The conduct was egregious; an egregious failure to exhibit the minimum standard of care on Warren Mottley or it was a gross dereliction of care,” the Coroner held.
    However, Griffith’s legal team of Senior Counsel Ralph Thorne, Senior Counsel Hal Gollop and attorney Emerald Griffith, have filed a motion for judicial review, asking the High Court to find that the coroner acted in a manner that was contrary to law; that he exceeded his jurisdiction; that he breached the principles of natural justice; that he acted unreasonably in the exercise of his discretion; that he acted upon irrelevant considerations; that he acted in breach of the Coroner’s Act; that he acted in the absence of evidence on which his finding could reasonably be based; and that he gave a verdict that exceeded his powers.
    Hearing adjourned
    Yesterday after case management, Justice Shona Griffith adjourned hearing until October 4.
    Senior Counsel Roger Forde, along with Solicitor General Anika Jackson, SC, and attorney Nicole Boyce appeared for the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police and Magistrate Bannister.
    Magistrate Bannister’s decision had brought the curtain down on the sixmonth-long coroner’s inquest which investigated the death of Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s brother on June 29, 2021.

    Source: Nation

  3. Daragh O'Malley Avatar
    Daragh O’Malley

    Does The Blogmaster have McManus news ?

  4. David Avatar
    David

    No news, matter appears to be in limbo. Not unusual for Barbados system.

    #snailpace

  5. David Avatar
    David

    Barbados coroner rules cocaine played role in Emma McManus death, despite battle to halt verdict | Irish Independent

    https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/barbados-coroner-rules-cocaine-played-role-in-emma-mcmanus-death-despite-battle-to-halt-verdict/a1884719642.html

  6. David Avatar
    David

    Irish tycoon wants cocaine-related death ruling quashed

    By Antoinette Connell antoinetteconnell@nationnews.com

    Irishman John Paul McManus is seeking to have the verdict by Coroner Graveney Bannister that his wife Emma McManus suffered a cocaine-related death in Barbados in December 2020 quashed.

    McManus, the son of Irish business tycoon and racehorse owner with the same name, through his attorneys, has filed the case against Bannister insisting that the Coroner was in breach by continuing the inquest into Emma’s death and not awaiting the outcome of an appeal in a case in which McManus had claimed, among other things, breaches by Bannister.

    Attorneys Satcha Kissoon and Ravi Rajcoomar SC, in documents filed on behalf of McManus, are contending that based on a November 24, 2023 email from the office of the Deputy Solicitor General stating the Coroner had advised that “CV0093 of 2021” would be adjourned pending the outcome of appeal “CVa0110 of 2022”, this amounted to an “equitable forbearance” after he continued the inquest.

    The claimant is also seeking a declaration that based on that undertaking given by the Coroner, there was a legitimate expectation that the inquest would not continue.

    Among other things, McManus also wants a declaration that Bannister’s conclusion of the inquest without notice to the interested parties amounted to a breach of the principles of natural justice and was contrary to law, an abuse of power or made in bad faith; that not calling witness Dr Vicor W. Weedn, who submitted a report, was similarly an abuse of power and the delivery of the verdict was unauthorised and contrary to the Coroner’s Act.

    The Emma McManus inquest began in January 2021 probing the circumstances under which she died at the couple’s home at Sandy Lane Estate in St James. It was initially halted in February upon an application by McManus’ legal team before Justice Shona Griffith, asking for a stay of the proceedings until the determination of a fixed date claim alleging a number of irregularities, including the decision to hold the inquest being ultra vires the Coroner’s Act; that the inquest was unnecessary and the Coroner had made several errors of law. The legal team also sought an order for the Coroner to provide it with all documents and expert reports, including the post mortem.

    Justice Griffith ruled in January 2023 that the inquest could go on and that allegations of bias by Bannister were misconceived, while leaving the decision on whether the hearing would continue away from the media up to the Coroner. An appeal of that ruling was lodged and is pending, and it is from that the latest case against Coroner Bannister has stemmed.

    Bannister delivered the verdict last September 3.

    The application asks for: “A declaration that the acts of the defendant, acting in his capacity as Coroner, including his decision to render a verdict and/or to consult with unnamed persons in the rendering or prior to rending a verdict, amounted to an unlawful act by a public officer and made in bad faith with intent of injury to the family of the deceased and/or the claimant, and amounts to misfeasance in public office.”

    In addition, the legal team has also filed for an order of certiorari to quash the verdict; an order that damages be quantified and paid by the defendant to the claimant, along with an order that the defendant “pay the costs of this action”.

    The matter is set to be heard on Wednesday.

    Kissoon noted: “The matter is sub judice but I can say that I believe there are significant errors of law here which the court must review and correct.”

    Source: Nation

  7. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DFVQMiBNklk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  8. David Avatar
    David

    Lawsuit against Coroner adjourned

    THE LAWSUIT LODGED against Coroner Graveney Bannister in relation to the inquest into the death of Emma McManus has been adjourned until March 10.

    It came up before Justice H Patrick Wells yesterday and several procedural matters were dealt with.

    Irishman John Paul McManus wants the coroner’s verdict, that his wife Emma’s December 2020 death was cocaine-related, quashed.

    McManus is the son of Irish business tycoon and racehorse owner J P McManus and has filed the case against Magistrate Bannister citing a breach by him in continuing the inquest without awaiting the outcome of an appeal in another case which McManus had filed.

    Attorneys Satcha Kissoon and Ravi Rajcoomar, SC, are representing McManus. Solicitor General Anika Jackson along with Roger Forde, KC, with Faye Ann Best are representing the coroner, who was present in court. ( AC)

    Source: Nation News

  9. David Avatar
    David

    UK coroner knocks Barbados over handling of body

    By Maria Bradshaw

    mariabradshaw@nationnews.com

    A United Kingdom coroner has knocked Barbados for the way the body of British citizen Rebekah Arter was handled after she died in a hotel room here last year.

    Citing the lack of a toxicology report to determine the cause of death, Coroner Professor Andrew Harris said he would report the conduct of Barbadian authorities to the “Foreign Office” after a British pathologist expressed concern about the treatment of Arter’s body, revealing that the organs were “inexplicably dissected prior to repatriation”.

    ‘Not QEH’

    When provided with the comments made by the coroner, Shane Sealy, communications specialist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), told the Weekend Nation:

    “This situation would not have been handled at the QEH. Due to the nature of the case, the coroner would have done this externally, not here, which is commonplace for such situations.”

    Arter, 47, was on vacation in Barbados with her husband Warren Arter, a former UK Met Police detective inspector, who was kicked out of the service in 2016 in disgrace for gross misconduct involving drug abuse and orgies. He found her dead in their room at Ocean 2 Hotel on June 28 last year.

    He committed suicide shortly after returning to the UK.

    The coroner’s inquest was delayed earlier this year when Harris expressed concern that no toxicology report was conducted by officials here, who had carried out an autopsy and determined that Arter died from aspiration pneumonitis (an infection caused by inhaling something other than air into the lungs).

    After a two-day inquest at the South Coroner’s Court, Harris rendered an open verdict on August 29.

    He stated: “When this matter came to the attention of the senior coroner, one member of the family had expressed concern that the death may be related to drugs and alcohol. Another thought that there may have been actions that might amount to unlawful killing, and the senior coroner opening the inquest suspected a possibility of unnatural death.” Pointing out that the Barbados pathologist found no evidence of violence and the death was not regarded as a homicide, he stated: “On July 18 when the case was again reviewed by me, we still had no communication from the Barbados pathologist, so the medical cause of death remained unascertained and I reiterated my view the scope of the inquest couldn’t be explained and therefore it remained as it was.”

    Uncertainty

    As the cause of death was unascertained, Harris said it could not exclude unlawful killing, accident or a natural death.

    In terms of the UK pathologist’s report on the dissection of the organs, the coroner found that this raised the prospect of deliberate concealment or obstruction to further investigation.

    The coroner also found Warren Arter’s evidence about his wife’s death to be inconsistent and unreliable – but he did not accept any discrepancies as fact.

    Arter was charged on his return to the UK from Barbados over misconduct allegations relating to another woman. He was found dead in his cell in Wandsworth Prison ten days later.

    The coroner noted that Arter also tried to commit suicide in Barbados.

    ‘We were informed that her husband tried to commit suicide in Barbados. He was flown to the UK where he was arrested by police on non-homicide charges. I learnt that he was found dead in prison in this country on July 11 and his inquest is to be heard at a later date in another jurisdiction.”

    The inquest heard that on June 28, 2024, Arter telephoned his wife’s relatives and reported that she had died. Photographs showed her nude body surrounded by drugs and blood.

    The family told the inquest that Arter gave conflicting accounts of what happened. One relative said he told her that Rebekah had choked but others said they were told he had woken up to find her dead. He also told relatives he thought the blood in the bed was chocolate.

    Dr Vincent Cerimile told the hearing that analysis of Arter’s postmortem hair samples indicated “the occasional use of cocaine”. However, he said the evidence given by the hair analysis “cannot give evidence of cause of deaths at that time”.

    Arter’s brother Peter Monksfield, who came to Barbados after his sister died, testified that a police officer had told him “there was no laboratory on this island to do toxicology analysis and the blood taken from Rebekah had left the island for this purpose”.

    Holiday

    Arter’s mother Brenda Monksfield told the inquest: “The last I heard from Rebecca she was going on holiday to Barbados. She told me she didn’t want to go.”

    The inquest heard from other witnesses, including employees from Arter’s beauty salon, that she was a victim of domestic abuse and coercive behaviour by her husband.

    Arter’s son, Elliot Usher, asked for the hearing to be adjourned and for the case to be designated an Article 2 matter under the European Convention of Human Rights, which includes a positive obligation for the state to safeguard life by law.

    He said: “Mr Arter was a police officer who had been on suspension for years, yet retained influence and connection within his old command unit. The Met Police, its directorate of professional standards, the IOPC all had the opportunity to intervene and failed to do so.

    “These failings arguably contributed to her death. There is clear evidence of systemic failings by the police and its oversight bodies which is why I submit this hearing should be adjourned.”

    Source: Nation

  10. David Avatar
    David

    High Court judge dismisses application by Irish tycoon

    A High Court judge last month dismissed the application by Irish tycoon, John McManus, for judicial review against former coroner Graveney Bannister, who conducted an inquest into the death of his wife Emma McManus.

    Emma died on December 29, five years ago while they were vacationing in Barbados.

    On November 28, Justice H. Patrick Wells dismissed all of the grounds of the application for judicial review and ordered cost to be paid to Bannister, who has since retired from the bench.

    McManus through his attorneys Ravi Rajcoomar, S.C., Philip McWatt and Satcha Kissoon, brought the action challenging the coroner’s conduct and decisions in relation to the inquest. McManus complained that the coroner’s actions (such as delivering a verdict without notice, failing to “allow” crossexamination of a key expert and allegedly acting contrary to the Coroners Act) were unlawful, unreasonable and or made in bad faith.

    Tainted by bias

    The application further alleged breaches of natural justice; abuse of power and misfeasance in public office and asserted that the coroner’s verdict was tainted by bias and unsupported by the evidence.

    In September 2023, Bannister ruled that 40-year-old Emma died suddenly from ‘unnatural’ causes that were ‘cocaine associated’.

    The high profile couple and their three children arrived in Barbados on December 14, 2020 and were expected to leave on January 8. They were staying at the familyowned villa in St James. On the night of December 29, McManus said he found his wife lying dead in their bed.

    A toxicology report from the Trinidad and Tobago Forensic Science Centre dated February 10, 2021 found the presence of Benzoylecgonine and Ecgonine Methyl Ester, the main metabolites of cocaine.

    Second post mortem

    However, a second post mortem conducted by Barbados pathologist Dr Stephen Jones conducted on February 1, 2021, at the request of McManus found that she died as a result of “aspiration of food material”, on account of “vegetable material . . . seen in the lumina of numerous bronchi”; and “fatty change of the liver”.

    McManus, who had previously brought an appeal against a decision by the High Court not to halt the inquest, in his application contended that the coroner should have halted the inquest pending the determination of the Appeal Court; that the coroner was bound by the principle of equitable forbearance; that the Coroner denied him his legitimate expectation to have the inquest paused until the appeal in the previous litigation was determined; and that the Coroner acted illegally by concluding the inquest as he did; by not having crossexamination of a particular witness; and by not following what is proffered as the “procedures” under the Coroners Act.

    Bannister, who was represented by Roger Forde, S.C. and Fianne Best, charged that he did not give any undertaking not to continue the inquest pending the determination of the appeal in the previous High Court matter related to the inquest. To that extent, he did not create any legitimate expectation that such would occur. He further submitted that the conduct of the inquest was a matter for his discretion, and in that regard, he was entitled to deliver his verdict when he did as he pointed out that he considered all the medical evidence, including the report of consultant pathologist, Dr Corinthian Dupuis, which disclosed that needle tracks were seen on the body of the deceased and that such needle tracks suggested a history of drug abuse.

    In addition, he further noted that while he considered the evidence of Jones, which suggested that Emma died from natural causes, he preferred the evidence of Dupuis.

    No place in review

    Wells agreed with Bannister that the claim for equitable forbearance had absolutely no place in judicial review proceedings.

    He stated: “The court agrees entirely with the respondent on this score and reiterates what judicial review is really about, as a progeny of administrative/public law. The court therefore dismisses the arguments premised on equitable forbearance advanced by the applicant.”

    He also agreed that the coroner did not deny McManus a legitimate expectation to have the inquest paused until the appeal was determined.

    “I agree entirely with this arguments by the respondent,” Justice Wells said. “There is absolutely no evidence before this court that the learned Coroner, as the public authority, made any representation or promise of any delay in the proceedings, to the applicant, pending any appeal. Equally important as well for the court is that the inquest is an investigation, which has no parties and as such, as an individual to whom the Coroner had no obligation (as he was not even someone in potential jeopardy from the police statements), any claim of legitimate expectation of the Coroner cannot be properly grounded.”

    In terms of the argument that the Coroner acted illegally by concluding the inquest as he did; by not having crossexamination of a particular witness and by not following what is proffered as the “procedures” under the Coroners Act, the judge stated: “In the view of the court, nothing here has merit. As stated earlier, the inquest is an investigation. It is not a trial. In the absence of any particular Rules of Court setting out any rigid procedural regime for the conduct of the inquest, procedural matters are for the Coroner. The only requirement in law is that the Coroner must be fair to all concerned.

    “The problem for the claimant here is that he has no proof that he ever made any such request and that the Coroner denied that request. There was a lapse in the proceedings between the filing of the first High Court case concerning this inquest, and the delivery of the verdict, and as such, any request that the applicant had, could easily have been communicated to the Coroner, as he had counsel. No such request was made, as far as the evidence seen by this court shows.”

    Justice Wells stated: “Having arrived at the findings and conclusions that I have, the court makes the following orders. The application of M John Paul McManus is dismissed in its entirety. Judgment is entered for the respondent. The applicant shall pay costs to the respondent, to be assessed if not agreed.”(MB)

    Source: Nation

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