The family of a deceased 57-year-old Waterford man is appealing for tighter processes around identifying next of kin.
This comes following a 27 day wait for his body to be released to his family following his discovery.
James Weldon, late of Sporthouse, Butlerstown who had been living in Dublin city was found dead in his apartment on August 19th, 2023.
The Weldon family travelled to Dublin District Coroners Court on Tuesday.
There they attended the inquest into the death of their brother, almost 2 years later.
Garda Peter Murray from Kevin Street Garda Station recalled attending the scene at the Iveagh Trust apartment on Upper Kevin Street.
Coroners Court
Reports of a strong smell of decay had been reported.
Entry was subsequently forced into the residence where Mr. Weldon lived alone.
The 57-year-old Waterford man was discovered deceased in the sitting room area of the 3-room apartment.
Garda at the scene say they failed to identify any next of kin.
This is despite, the family say, the presence of personal effects.
These included a passport, a mobile phone, a birth certificate, and postcards with the family's Waterford address named.
There were no attempts made to contact the family until James' sibling reported him missing some days later.
During that time, James was kept in Dublin City Morgue.
Due to the necessity of DNA as a means of identifying Mr Weldon, it was 27 days before the body was released to the family.
Representing the family in court was Dungarvan solicitor Martin Lavan.
On behalf of the family, he requested that Garda photographs of the scene be released to the family.
He also requested that the caretaker of the building, who was at the scene, be present in the Coroner's Court to give evidence.
Role of the Coroners Court
Coroner Crona Gallagher reminded the court that the role of the Coroner's Court is to determine cause of death.
Additionally, she added it was not designed to assign blame to any party.
With that in mind, she disallowed any further speculation on the delays incurred by the family.
She stated that the official cause of death according to the post-mortem was death by suspension.
The inquest was adjourned pending the production of photographs to the family and the availability of the additional witness.
A death certificate will not be furnished to the family until the inquest has been completed in full.
Dymphna Nugent spoke with the family after the inquest in Dublin, and Jamie's sister Fiona shared their wishes for visible change.
At the time of reporting, the family are undergoing an appeal with Fiosrú, formerly GSOC, into the handling of the case after death.
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