Telford hanging: family to face more trauma as inquest collapses

The inquest into the hanging of a second black man from the same family in Telford collapsed yesterday because the jury failed to reach a verdict.

Following the inconclusive end to the five-week hearing, the McGowan family must now face the ordeal of a new inquest before it can hope to discover the full circumstances surrounding the deaths of Jason and his uncle, Errol. Jason's death had been dismissed as suicide by police within 23 minutes of discovering his body. Yesterday, the jury of six men and four women declared that, after two days of deliberation and evidence from almost 90 witnesses in oral or written form, they were unable to return a verdict on Mr McGowan's death.

Both men were found hanged in similar circumstances within six months of each other, shocking residents of the Shropshire town of Telford, three years ago. Their family, convinced they might both have been killed by racists who had subjected the older man to a two-year campaign of harassment, have since fought for the matter to be fully investigated.

Bitter disappointment was evident on the faces of family members who had sat through the lengthy inquest. Jason McGowan's widow, Sinead, wept openly as she left the hearing shortly after the Telford and Wrekin coroner, Michael Gwynne, explained: "In these circumstances I propose to discharge you as a jury and hold another inquest into the death of Jason McGowan."

Mrs McGowan, 25, explained later that she was emotionally exhausted, adding: "We would like to thank the jury for their obvious careful consideration of all the facts. The last thing we want to do is to go through all this again but we, as a family, are confident that justice for Jason will prevail."

Jason's mother, Doreen McGowan, added: "The real victims in this case are the McGowan family members. We will fight on."

The inquest heard how Mr McGowan, 20, a newly married man, had been out celebrating the Millennium Eve with his wife at the Elephant and Castle pub in Telford. Friends said he had appeared his "usual smiley self", declaring he did not need to make a New Year's resolution because life was perfect. Others, however, insisted he had argued with his wife and appeared tearful at one point. Half an hour before midnight, the young man left the pub, saying he wanted to be on his own. Apart from one witness who spotted someone fitting his description walking down the road a short while later, he was never seen alive again.

The following morning, at about 6am, two of his friends were walking near the pub when they spotted him hanging by his belt from low roadside railings. He had been dead for some time and there were no obvious signs of a struggle or violence.

His death devastated his family, coming so soon after that of his uncle Errol, 34, in a strikingly similar hanging in July 1999. The older man had been found suspended from a doorknob at a house he was looking after for a friend, after repeatedly complaining about racial harassment.

The McGowans, convinced it could not be a suicide, criticised West Mercia Police's treatment of the investigation and pressed them to look further into the matter. Jason McGowan had been trying to carry out his own inquiries when he, too, was discovered dead.

Yet Jason's inquest heard that it took the first senior investigating officer just 23 minutes to decide his death was a suicide.

The next officer to take over the case, Detective Chief Inspector Ken Crane, who has now retired, insisted the matter had been thoroughly investigated.

But the inquest heard claims that there had been a failure to search for potentially crucial forensic evidence in the early hours. Following a recommendation by Home Secretary at the time, Jack Straw, a second investigation was launched, with a team from the Metropolitan Police's Racial and Violent Crimes Task Force acting as advisers.

While the second investigation was praised for its thoroughness, its senior officer, Detective Superintendent Mel Shore, conceded a "central piece of the jigsaw" remained missing. They had hoped this second inquest would provide more answers.