The naked body of Derry man Gerard Hampson was found in 2008. Police now treating his death as murder
Gerard Hampson (53), of Northland Road in Derry, disappeared at the end of 2007 and a search was mounted for him.
On January 9, 2008 his naked body was found on the shores of Lough Neagh.
A subsequent report by the Police Ombudsman was highly critical of the police handling of the case and the deceased’s family have always maintained he was the victim of foul play.
At a preliminary hearing today counsel for the Coroner’s Office said that three lever arch files of disclosure had been received from the PSNI on September 6.
Mark Wolfe QC for the PSNI said the disclosure process had been “complex” but said there were still some documents to come which should be handed over in seven to ten days.
Barrister Paul Foster for the next of kin told the coroner that the family are “annoyed and disturbed” it had taken three years to get to this point.
He said that he had been asked to express their annoyance “that an issue he had first addressed the coroner about three years ago was only being finalised now”.
The Coroner Joseph McCrisken said: “This has been the longest disclosure process I have ever had to deal with.”
Counsel for the Coroner said that after the final disclosure was made it would be submitted to the next of kin within days.
She said that now that disclosure was complete they could move to a date for the inquest proper.
The coroner fixed a date for an inquest earlier this week in October 2022.
The hearing was told that it appeared that it would have to be heard in Banbridge.
The next hearing was set for October 14 to assess progress.
The family of Mr Hampson – known to his friends as ‘Shorty’ – have long maintained that their father was the victim of foul play and a pathologist report noted “there must be considerable suspicion around his death”.
A report by the Police Ombudsman was extremely critical of PSNI handling of the case and subsequently eight officers were disciplined.
A 57 year old man arrested by detectives on suspicion of the murder of Hampson and was later released from custody.
The PSNI say the suspect was freed pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service.
At the time he went missing Mr Hampson was wanted for questioning in connection with a double abduction in Co Westmeath and a shooting in Derry in 2007.
A brother-in-law of the late Sinn Féin leader Martin McGuinness, Marvin Canning, was charged in connection with the episode but the prosecution was later dropped it.
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