Narrative verdict

A narrative verdict is a verdict available to coroners in England and Wales and in Ireland following an inquest. In such a verdict the circumstances of a death are recorded, being a brief free-form, factual statement, which does not attribute the cause to an individual. Narrative verdicts were introduced to England and Wales in 2004.

Historical examples

The inquest into the death of [Charlotte Shaw] concluded with a narrative verdict in October 2010. Charlotte Shaw drowned while crossing a swollen stream on Dartmoor during training for Ten Tors in 2007.
A coroner delivered a narrative verdict into the death of Secret Intelligence Service officer Gareth Williams whose decaying corpse was found padlocked into a red sports bag in the bath at his home in August 2010.
A further narrative verdict was delivered following the death of former footballer Gary Speed, who was found hanged in his garage on 27 November 2011.