Hillsborough's 97th victim was unlawfully killed, coroner concludes

A Liverpool fan who suffered life-changing injuries in the Hillsborough disaster was unlawfully killed, a coroner has concluded.

Andrew Devine died on Tuesday, 32 years after being hurt in a crush at an FA Cup semi-final that led to 96 deaths.

In 2016, inquests concluded those 96 fans had been unlawfully killed.

Senior Coroner Andre Rebello said the 55-year-old was the disaster's "97th fatality" and as such, the conclusion was the same.

On 15 April 1989, overcrowding occurred on the terraces of Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium at the start of the semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs.

The resulting crush led to the deaths of 96 people and injured hundreds more.

Until Mr Devine's death, the last of the victims had been Tony Bland, who was left severely brain damaged but lived until 1993.

Announcing Mr Devine's death on Wednesday, his family said: "Our collective devastation is overwhelming but so too is the realisation that we were blessed to have had Andrew with us for 32 years."

"We welcome the conclusion of the coroner," they added.

In his conclusion, Mr Rebello said Mr Devine had died from aspiration pneumonia, which had been caused by a brain injury that resulted from oxygen deprivation and crush injuries.

He added that the 2016 inquests had been "comprehensive and thorough and arose out of the same circumstances that caused the crush injuries to Andrew Devine, which were to prove fatal 32 years later".

"As such, it is proportionate, reasonable and sufficient for me to adopt the jury's findings and determination in full."

Margaret Aspinall, whose son was killed in the crush and who was chairwoman of the now disbanded Hillsborough Family Support Group, said it was "so, so sad to hear that yet another family has lost a life".

She added that Mr Devine being named as the 97th victim by the coroner was significant, but said the number affected by the disaster was far higher.

"Unfortunately, you can't put all the names together, you can't put them all on the memorial [at Liverpool's Anfield ground], but there's more than 97".

Paying tribute to the 55-year-old, Liverpool FC said it was "deeply saddened" by his death.

A spokesman said the "lifelong supporter" had "defied expectations that he would not survive for six months after the tragedy".

The club's players and staff observed a 97-second silence before beginning training at their Austrian base in Tirol earlier.

Manager Jurgen Klopp said Mr Devine's death was a "very sad moment for everyone who has Liverpool in their hearts and for many others besides".

"We have lost an incredible person, someone who showed us all what it is to fight and who refused to give in even when the expectation was that he could fight no more," he added.

"We are sad for Andrew, we are sad for his wonderful family who cared for him for so long and we are sad for the entire Liverpool family because another life has been cut short by Hillsborough."

Sir Kenny Dalglish, who was the Reds' manager on the day of the disaster, paid tribute to Mr Devine's family on Twitter and said he would "always be remembered" by everyone at the club.

The 2016 inquests were a turning point in the official response to the disaster, which had previously been marked by a police cover-up aimed at unjustly blaming Liverpool fans.

In June, two police forces agreed to pay damages to 600 people over the cover-up, but nobody has ever been convicted over police actions following the stadium crush.

Match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield falsely told key people and the media that a gate at the stadium had been forced by Liverpool fans - which families and survivors of the tragedy fought for years to disprove.

He was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter at a retrial in 2019, after the jury in his first trial was unable to reach a verdict.

A trial of two retired police officers and a former solicitor, accused of perverting the course of justice by altering police statements after the disaster, collapsed when a judge ruled there was no case to answer.

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