source: Birmingham Mail
published:  25 November 2014

A Birmingham man who died in police custody had his head covered with a sheet or blanket, it emerged at the city’s coroner’s court.

Kingsley Burrell, 29, from Hockley, died four days after he was detained in March 2011. His family have always claimed he was restrained using excessive force.

An inquest is finally due to take place in February.

At a pre-inquest hearing today, Birmingham coroner Louise Hunt said the dad-of-three had what could have been a sheet or blanket “wrapped around his head”.

She added that three pathologists had each given a “slightly different” cause of death. Mrs Hunt said she would ask them to consider what impact restraint had an impact on the cause of death and whether there was any evidence of a Taser being used.

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source: The Voice Online
published: 21 October 2014

The family of a physically healthy young man who died after being restrained on a mental health ward has vowed to continue fighting for justice after an inquest returned a “natural causes” verdict.

Jonathan Malia sought help for bipolar disorder in January 2013 and was transferred to the private Cygnet Hospital in Stevenage Hertfordshire.

It is thought the 24-year-old died from a heart attack caused by a blood clot. But relatives say they learnt that the father-of-one had injuries to both his head and arms when he arrived at hospital, which they believe were sustained in transit.

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