Hull morgue blunder: Niece’s ashes were also scattered on para’s grave

THE exhumation of a body mistakenly buried in the grave of former paratrooper Christopher Alder in Hull will also disturb the remains of his niece, his family revealed today.

Police have been brought in to investigate the blunder in Hull which came to light after the body of Christopher Alder was discovered in a mortuary 11 years after his family thought they had buried him.

Mr Alder, 37, choked to death while handcuffed and lying on the floor of a police station in Hull, in the early hours of April 1 1998. It now appears a Hull pensioner called Grace Kamara was buried in his place in 2000.

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Mrs Kamara is understood to have died from natural causes in 1999 but her burial was delayed and finally scheduled for Friday.

It appears the blunder was only discovered because her friends and family asked to see the body and Mr Alder’s remains were found in its place in the mortuary.

Today, Mr Alder’s brother, Richard, revealed the ashes of his 25-year-old daughter Laura were scattered on Christopher’s grave after she died in 2006. Mr Alder said: “We are distraught that Christopher’s body was left for 11 years in a mortuary after we thought we had buried him.

“This has come as a sickening blow after everything we went through when Christopher died in police custody in 1998. Our shock and grief is made worse by the fact that when my daughter, Laura, died in 2006 her ashes were scattered on Christopher’s grave at her request.

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“The police have told us that the body of whoever is buried in Christopher’s grave will have to be exhumed. This means that Laura’s remains will also be disturbed and this just adds to our horror and pain at this time.”

On Monday, Humberside Police confirmed a criminal investigation into the blunder would take place. But chief constable Tim Hollis said that, given the history of the contact between Mr Alder’s family and the police, he had asked the neighbouring South Yorkshire force to undertake the inquiry.

Ten years ago, a coroner’s jury decided Mr Alder was unlawfully killed and in 2002 five Humberside Police officers went on trial accused of manslaughter and misconduct in public office but they were cleared of all charges on the orders of the judge.