Mr Howatson, a coroner, received an early morning call from a police solicitor informing him of the death of a prisoner whilst held in detention. Under these circumstances, the specific requirements of law, including a public inquest and the convocation of a jury, a post-mortem would also be necessary. They published notification of the said inquest, regarding the passing of Mr Gilbert Gombrich in mid-September.
The pathologist who had conducted the autopsy gave the first testimony. He detailed the supposed hour of death during the night of the previous Thursday, and the cause—the severe battering of the cranium against the cell wall. When pressed to indicate whether death could be ascribed to self-inflicted injuries, or if there had been the involvement of a third party, the pathologist
