"Blood soaked through clothes from inside"

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | other press

Wednesday March 14, 2007 12:58

by Irish Times reader

Wheelock family continue to call for Public Inquiry

People may have missed this when it was publicised, since the protest coincided with (extensively reported) Shell to Sea protest in Mayo.

The Wheelock family's plight has been highlighted on this site, so readers will be interested in the report on the forensic testing of Terence Wheelock's clothes. Since the Irish Times is subscription I reproduce the article here in full.

Members of Terence Wheelock's family protesting outside the Department of Justice on February 16th.

Clothes worn by Wheelock soiled by blood, vomit

The clothes worn by Terence Wheelock, who died in 2005 after 2½ hours in Garda custody, were extensively stained with blood and vomit, a forensic report commissioned by his family's legal team has found. Kitty Holland reports.

The inquest into the death of Mr Wheelock (20) was adjourned in November to allow State Pathologist Marie Cassidy to view photographs of his body. It resumes at the end of March.

The family hope to hand the forensic reports, commissioned by their legal team, to the Minister for Justice at the Progressive Democrats conference in Wexford this weekend. They will also be presented at the resumption of the inquest.

No gardaí who arrested Mr Wheelock or who were at Store Street Garda station in June 2005, when he fell into a coma, mentioned blood or vomit on his clothes at the inquest. However, at its adjournment last year, Michael Norton, forensic scientist at Garda headquarters who examined Mr Wheelock's clothes, said there were bloodstains on some of the undergarments.

According to the independent forensic analysis of the clothes, commissioned by the Wheelock family legal team, these bloodstains could have been caused by injuries and trauma to the anal area.

His family are seeking an independent inquiry into his death.

Mr Wheelock is said to have been found unconscious in a cell at the Garda station on June 2nd, 2005. Gardaí have said in evidence he had attempted to hang himself with a cord from his tracksuit bottoms and that he was taken to the Mater hospital.

He remained in a coma there until his death three months later, on September 16th, 2005.

After almost a year of legal wrangling with the Garda Commissioner's office, the Wheelocks were granted access to his clothes in November.

Photographs taken in the Mater hospital by a hospital photographer of Mr Wheelock's body and seen by The Irish Times , show extensive bruising on his arms, legs and torso as well as cuts on his knuckles and single ligature mark around his neck.

The photographs of his clothes show clearly bloodstains on his boxer shorts and T-shirt. Dublin's deputy lord mayor Aodháin Ó Riordáin, who also saw the photographs yesterday, called them "particularly troubling".

A T-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and boxer shorts were examined on behalf of the family at the Dublin Forensic Science laboratory by Lee John Fagan, a forensic scientist with Keith Borer consultants in Durham, England. An opinion on his findings was given by Dr Carl Gray, consultant forensic pathologist based in Leeds.

Mr Fagan, in his report dated December 8th, 2006, notes bloodstaining on the tracksuit bottoms, including a heavy soaked-in stain on the upper inside back of the trousers. The blood is said to have soaked through to the outside of the tracksuit bottoms.

Mr Wheelock's boxer shorts are found to have similar stains on the inside back. Mr Fagan is of the opinion that this blood is likely to have soaked through the shorts and tracksuit bottoms from the inside and while they were being worn. He notes vomit-staining down the front of the T-shirt as well as bloodstaining.

In his opinion on Mr Fagan's report, Dr Gray says that although vomiting may occur from an initial hanging attempt which would be nauseating, he notes that there was no double ligature mark on Mr Wheelock's neck to suggest repeated attempts at hanging and he says the most likely explanation is that the T-shirt was previously vomited upon.

He also says anal bleeding is not a usual feature of hanging cases. Though it could be explained by minor anal trauma or a cut caused by constipation, it could also have been caused by injury and trauma to the anal area.

A spokesman for the Garda said: "It is unwise for An Garda Síochána to discuss any aspect of this case pending the outcome of the coroner's inquest."

The Wheelock family's call for an independent inquiry is supported by local TDs Joe Costello (Labour) and Tony Gregory (Ind) as well as by local councillors Christy Burke (Sinn Féin) and Aodháin Ó Riordáin (Labour).

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Comments (5 of 5)

It is of no surprise

by Joanne Nolan

Tue Apr 24, 2007 21:08

jnvetnurse at hotmail dot com

16 Foxborough Place Lucan South

01 6240740

I was recently reminded of Jason Wheelock because of an article in hot press mag. I had almost forgotten but thankfully not...

my own personal expierence is I have seen their brutality. My own brother who was no angel I might add but no one deserves to be treated like scum...my brothers words...I have seen the results of him being absolutely battered on several occasions.

They think that they are above and beyond the realms of justification..judgement...it is of no solice I know to the wheelock family but we all know in our heart of hearts what goes around comes around....they will get what is due...and I hope their names are published in the daily newspapers that they are villifed humilitated as they should be....

Love and light to the wheelock family

nothing to joke about

by martin

Sun Mar 18, 2007 14:20

seems that an offensive post was taken off about terence wheelock proper order.
the garda should be arrested and charged.

what about the initial file that was sent to the DPP by the investigaing officer?

Did this file include the blood soaked clothes or the photos of extensive bruising?

Was the DPP made aware of the forensic reports from scientists from briton??

This has a very important bearing on the case and just what the gardai control or try to control and nine times out of ten they do a good job in controlling things
.
The wheelock family are the one in ten.

the wheelock family have done a marvelous job in exposing the lies coming from store st.

they are an ordinary working class family doing extrodinary things it is nothing to joke about...

More on this

by Interested

Fri Mar 16, 2007 18:08

Further to the above story - more allegations

From Irish Mail on Sunday, Feb25, By Ken Foxe

GARDAI ARE set to be severely embarrassed over allegations that two
men, including Terence Wheelock, were brutalised with a baton in Garda
custody.

It has emerged that Mr Wheelock, 20, whose death after an unexplained
incident in custody has become a cause celebre, suffered anal bleeding
consistent with a severe trauma.

Now, the Irish Mail on Sunday has established that another man has come
forward claiming he was similarly assaulted while in custody in the same
Garda station.

The man, who is currently serving a prison sentence, has said he was
assaulted by a garda at Store Street station eight weeks before the incident
that led to Mr Wheelock's death. It is understood that he has given a
statement from behind bars.

The complaint was originally discounted as being 'too outlandish'.

But it has now taken on potentially major significance following an
independent forensic examination of Mr Wheelock's clothing.

Gardai have consistently maintained that Mr Wheelock hanged himself and that
there was 'no reason' for any other injuries.

However, his t-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and boxer shorts were all
extensively stained with blood, as first revealed in Ireland on Sunday.

In an analysis of his clothing, Lee John Fagan, a forensic scientist in
England, noted blood staining on the inside of the dead man's tracksuit
bottoms. Dr Carl Gray, an English consultant forensic pathologist, said in
his report on the findings that anal bleeding was not a usual feature of
hanging cases.

At the time of the incident, gardai said Mr Wheelock had suffered no other
injuries.

Superintendent Kevin Donohoe, referring to the original reports in the MoS,
said: 'Some media reports refer to extensive bruising on Terence's body. The
gardai see no reason for this, nor were they noticed by the gardai or Dublin
Fire Brigade personnel who attended the incident.' The inquest into Mr
Wheelock's death was adjourned in November to allow State Pathologist Marie
Cassidy view photographs of the 20-year-old's body. It is set to resume in
March amid growing calls for a full independent inquiry.

Before its adjournment, Michael Norton, a forensic scientist at Garda
headquarters, had disclosed that bloodstains were found on Mr Wheelock's
clothing.

He was found unconscious in a cell at Store Street on June 2, 2005.

Gardai say he had attempted to hang himself using the cord from his
tracksuit bottoms. He was taken to the Mater Hospital but never regained
consciousness. He died there three months later.

When Mr Wheelock's legal team went to examine the cell, they found it had
been renovated.

Supt Donohoe said this weekend: 'The Garda investigation into Terence
Wheelock's death was completed and a file submitted to the DPP, who directed
no prosecution against any party.

'The matter remains before the Coroner's Court. Some evidence has been given
and more is yet to be given, including forensic and medical evidence.

'I understand it stands [ adjourned] to March 28. It is unwise for the
gardai to comment further on this matter while it remains within the
coroner's jurisdiction.' A large group of Opposition politicians have called
for an independent inquiry into the incident, including two Dublin TDs -
Labour's Joe Costello and independent Tony Gregory.

Mr Costello said: 'I firmly believe there has to be an inquiry. There hasn't
been anything other than an internal investigation into this. We need this
now because there are very controversial circumstances and all the unanswered
questions that are there.

'There is a lot of new information coming to light, which simply wasn't
known about in the time after Terence died. The situation whereby a perfectly
healthy happy young man should come out of a Garda station in a coma and
never recover consciousness simply has to be looked into.'

Gardai responcible should be arrested

by author

Fri Mar 16, 2007 13:16

'clearly the gardai go where no man has gone before, seeking "evidence" in the darkest of places. This stinks! '
Well we can make a thousand jokes about the gardai but the fact is they rule Ireland and can get away with murder. That is so sad. Nothing can make us smile these days. Arresting the gardai responcible might be a good idea.

Now the gardai dont want to comment.........????

by pete

Thu Mar 15, 2007 17:00

it come as no surprise that garda press office say it is "unwise" for them ot comment in light of what is emerging, that there was a vicious assault on young wheelock at the time of arrest, that resulted in bleeding.
i remember not to long ago when a sup kevin donaghue of garda press relations, had no problem commemting on this case in there press release, soon after terence went in to a coma.
that gardai noticed no bruising what soever and cant understand what the hola boulu is about, and that there were some false media reports, etc etc blow it out your arse garda press office..

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"Blood soaked through clothes from inside"

Comments (5 of 5)