THE parents of a Co Antrim student who died after being struck by a train in London say his death has not been properly investigated.
Connor Marron from Ahoghill was 19 when he had attended the PDC World Dart Championship at Alexandra Palace with a friend, but died in the early hours of January 2, 2022.
His body was discovered near Hornsey station and an open verdict was returned at an inquest last year.
The British Transport Police (BTP) have since launched an internal review into how the case was handled and has now implemented recommendations.
Speaking to BBC London, the teenager’s parents Sharon Doherty and Fergal Marron have said the BTP were too quick to declare his death an accident.
"As far as we're concerned, we got no investigation into Connor's death," Mr Marron said.
Connor was visiting London for the first time at the time of his death, and had been drinking with a friend before and during the quarter-final on New Year’s Day.
The inquest had heard that after leaving the event, Connor realised he had lost his phone and left his friend to find it.
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He was reported missing an hour later but had been hit by an empty stock train travelling at 48mph near the station.
North London Coroner’s Court had not been able to say exactly what happened between him leaving his friend and the collision, as CCTV footage did not shed any light on the matter.
The inquest also heard that he may have passed through a nearby waterway, the New River, and through a gap in the railway fence before trying to cross the tracks.
His parents have since made a number of complaints to BTP, with a senior officer beginning a review of the case last May.
"Connor's body was taken off that track at ten past two in the morning in darkness," Mr Marron told the BBC.
"We just would've thought that the first thing they would have done was that police officers would have went back where Connor was found, but police officers never went back."
He added that the BTP told him officers had been back to the scene to check for evidence, but they were later told this had not actually happened.
The BTP review has now concluded there was no visit to the site at the “earliest opportunity” in the days after Connor’s death.
It added that officers from the BTP’s disruption team had carried out a “post-fatality site visit” on January 3 during a disruption and reassurance patrol.
Another visit to take pictures for the coroner took place on February 24, 2022.
Connor’s parents have also complained that the BTP’s ground commander did not visit the tracks where he was found.
Instead, he had relied on updates from sergeants who provided updates from the scene.
There were further questions about why Connor would have left a well-lit path to cross a waterway and up a bank towards the train tracks.
Mr Marron said his theory is that his son was fleeing from a mugging or some other sort of confrontation.
"To me there is no other reason," he said.
Ms Doherty said that her son had been found wet from only the waist down, so he had not fallen completely into the waterway.
Mr Marron also said that officers did not check CCTV footage taken by cameras at an apartment complex near the waterway his son had crossed.
In the BTP review, the senior officer said: "I opine that even had the death been classified as unexplained, the evidence from the driver and the FFCCTV, and in absence of any evidence to indicate third (party) involvement, the outcome would have remained non-suspicious."
Connor’s parents said they were only told about the condition their son was found in, soaked from the waist down and without any shoes, just two days before the inquest last June.
The BTP officer wrote in his review that "the absence of footwear and the soaked condition of his jeans should have prompted professional inquisitiveness" including a CCTV trawl and door-to-door enquiries.
"(This) would have greatly assisted in answering these questions, which are the crux of the family's concerns," he said.
The family have now said BTP officers deliberately withheld information, with the review concluding that while no act or omission in the investigation was made maliciously, there was a “lack of professional inquisitiveness exacerbated by dilatory and lazy practices”.
Making an official complaint, Connor’s parents said the review findings were “misleading”.
"I had expected the British Transport Police from day one to help us to find out what happened to our son to the best of their ability," Mr Marron said.
"As far as we're concerned, they have hindered us from day one."
In a statement, a BTP spokesperson expressed their condolences to the family and said the independent, internal review had been started to “ensure we captured any possible learning opportunities”.
It added that it was “led by a senior detective who was satisfied Mr Marron's death was not suspicious".
The BTP added that a number of recommendations had since been implemented, including “better recording of investigatory actions and monitoring of contact with families”.
