Inquest “inconclusive” on man who went missing at Christmas

Thursday 22 February 2018

An inquest into the death of a Jersey man, who went missing on Christmas day in 2014, has ruled that there is insufficient evidence to determine exactly how he died, after his remains were found in the sea.

Both the St. Helier lifeboats and a French navy helicopter were called out at lunchtime on 25 December 2014, when Roy Deeming’s yacht was spotted adrift by Corbière lighthouse.

A member of the public alerted the Coastguard around 10:40 on Christmas morning when they spotted the vessel - with nobody on-board and a dingy still attached - floating about a mile from Beauport Bay. The Coastguard thought the yacht belonged to Richard Chapman, a friend of Mr Deeming, but when Mr Chapman corrected them, and told them that Mr Deeming’s boat was missing from St. Aubin’s harbour, they launched a missing person search which was unsuccessful in locating the 61-year-old’s body.

At the inquest into his death yesterday, Advocate Mark Harris, who was sitting as Coroner, heard that Mr Deeming was staying at Mr Chapman’s house over Christmas as he had just split from his partner. Mr Chapman, who had been friends with Mr Deeming for the “best part of 45 years,” said that Mr Deeming, “was not his usual self and was a bit more subdued,” but he put it down to the recent break-up. He described Mr Deeming as “unconventional” and a “free-spirit” so he wasn’t worried when Mr Deeming’s boat wasn’t in the harbour that morning, as he “practically lived” on the boat.

He said “I miss Roy; he was a good friend… I will never really know what he was thinking or planning to do that day.”

On the 28 March 2017, more than two years after Mr Deeming went missing, a scallop diver found a bone 10 metres deep in mud off the coast at Belcroute Bay. Tests by the University of Dundee identified it as a left shin bone of an adult, which forensic examination matched to Mr Deeming.

But due to the technical issues with the island’s diving recompression chamber, divers were unable to search the area until 22 August 2017, when a second bone was discovered along the south-west coast. This was identified as a right shin bone, and forensic examination matched it again to Mr Deeming. A post-mortem examination report by Dr. Peter Southall, a pathologist at Jersey’s General Hospital, said the bone findings were “incompatible with life” and “Mr Deeming had died.”

Pictured: Mr Chapman noticed that Mr Deeming's yacht was missing from St Aubin's harbour on Christmas morning (Google Maps). 

In the inquest, Police Coroner's Officer, Tony Forder, read a statement from Mr Deeming’s ex-partner who was also at the hearing. She had told police that Mr Deeming was very anxious and distressed about family issues in the UK, where he had just visited. She had spoken to him over the phone about 20:00 on Christmas Eve, where she told him they would speak about “the future” when she returned home as she was in the UK visiting family over Christmas.

Mr Forder said a police investigation revealed that two 56lb cast iron weights were missing from the vessel that was kept next to Mr Deeming’s yacht in St. Aubin’s harbour. One of the weights was found on Mr Deeming’s yacht, along with rusty scuff marks on the vessel’s stern – which is believed to be caused by another iron weight sliding off the boat.

In his summing up the Deputy Viscount, Advocate Harris, said: “We still don’t know what happened to [Mr Deeming] while out at sea…there was no note of intentions or evidence of mental mood on board.”

He added: “there is insufficient evidence on how or why he came into the sea.” Advocate Harris ruled Mr Deeming’s cause of death as “unascertained” and closed the inquest by telling Mr Deeming’s family and friends “I’m sorry for your loss.”