HM Coroner

A Coroner is an independent judicial office holder, appointed by a local council. Coroners usually have a legal background but will also be familiar with medical terminology. An inquest is an enquiry by a Coroner into the cause of an unexplained or unexpected death and its circumstances. Coroners investigate deaths that have been reported to them if it appears that:
• the death was violent or unnatural
• the cause of death is unknown, or
• the person died in prison, police custody, or another type of state detention.
In these cases coroners must investigate to find out, for the benefit of bereaved people and for official records, who has died and how, when, and where they died.