Connor Marron death: Police 'hindered' search for answers, say parents

The parents of a student who was hit by a train in London have accused British Transport Police (BTP) of failing to properly investigate his death.

Connor Marron, 19, from Ahoghill, County Antrim, had been at the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace with a friend before he died in the early hours of 2 January 2022.

He was discovered near Hornsey station.

BTP said it launched an internal review into its handling of the case and has since implemented its recommendations.

An open verdict was recorded at an inquest last year.

Connor's parents, Sharon Doherty and Fergal Marron, told BBC London that BTP officers were too quick to declare his death an accident.

"As far as we're concerned, we got no investigation into Connor's death," Mr Marron said.

Connor's inquest heard it was his first time visiting London and he had been drinking with a friend before and during the quarter-final on New Year's Day.

While leaving the darts event, he discovered his phone was lost and left his friend to find it.

Connor was reported missing about an hour later but had been hit by an empty stock train at 48mph just north of the station.

North London Coroner's Court could not determine what happened between when Connor left his friend and the collision, as CCTV could not shed any light on the final hour of his life.

The inquest heard that Connor may have passed through the New River - a nearby waterway - and a gap in a railway fence, before trying to cross the tracks.

Connor's parents have since raised a number of complaints to BTP which prompted a senior BTP officer to begin a review of the case in May 2022.

"Connor's body was taken off that track at ten past two in the morning in darkness," Mr Marron said.

"We just would've thought that the first thing they would have done was that police officers would have went back where Connor was found, but police officers never went back."

Mr Marron said that BTP had told them that officers had been back to the scene to check for evidence at the track, but were later informed this had not happened.

The conclusions of the BTP review into Connor's case, which have been seen by BBC London, acknowledged there was no visit to the site at the "earliest opportunity" in the days after Connor's death.

However, the review states that officers from the BTP's disruption team carried out a "post-fatality site visit on 3 January 2022 during a disruption and reassurance patrol".

A further visit was conducted on 24 February to take pictures which were shared with the coroner in preparation for the inquest, the review said.

Connor's parents were also highly critical of the ground commander responding to Connor's death not visiting the tracks where he was found.

He instead relied on updates from sergeants who provided updates from the "actual scene", the review states.

The family also have questions about why Connor left what they describe as a well-lit path to cross a waterway and up the bank to the tracks.

Mr Marron believes his son was fleeing from a mugging or some other confrontation. "To me there is no other reason," he said.

Ms Doherty added: "He was only wet from the waist down, so he didn't fall in."

Mr Marron said officers failed to check CCTV footage taken by cameras at an apartment complex near the waterway Connor crossed.

The senior officer states in the review: "I opine that even had the death been classified as unexplained, the evidence from the driver and the FFCCTV, and in absence of any evidence to indicate 3rd [party] involvement, the outcome would have remained non-suspicious."

Mr Marron and Mrs Doherty said they were only informed of the condition their son was found in - soaked to the waist and without shoes - two days before the inquest in June 2022.

In the review, the BTP officer wrote that "the absence of footwear and the soaked condition of his jeans should have prompted professional inquisitiveness" and prompted a CCTV trawl and door-to-door enquiries.

"[This] would have greatly assisted in answering these questions, which are the crux of the family's concerns," the review adds.

The couple accused BTP officers of deliberately withholding information.

The BTP's review found that while no act or omission in the investigation was made maliciously, there was a "lack of professional inquisitiveness exacerbated by dilatory and lazy practices".

In their official complaint, Connor's parents branded BTP's review findings as "misleading".

"I had expected the British Transport Police from day one to help us to find out what happened to our son to the best of their ability," Mr Marron said.

"As far as we're concerned they have hindered us from day one."

A BTP spokesperson expressed condolences to Connor's family, and said it commissioned an independent, internal review in May 2022 to "ensure we captured any possible learning opportunities".

The statement added the review "was led by a senior detective who was satisfied Mr Marron's death was not suspicious".

A number of recommendations for improvements were made, which BTP said have since been implemented.

"These have included better recording of investigatory actions and monitoring of contact with families."

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