Sister of Christopher Alder says she still has nightmares over brother's death in police custody and subsequent burial mix-up

Falklands veteran Mr Alder died in April 1998 after he was arrested for breaching the peace following a fracas outside a nightclub in which he was punched and taken to hospital.

CCTV showed officers drag the father-of-two's motionless body into the custody suite where he was left handcuffed, gasping for breath, for 11 minutes before dying. No attempts were made to seek medical help, despite one officer expressing concerns about asphyxiation.

Audio footage from several officers stood around the paratrooper as he lay in his final moments recorded what is widely regarded to be monkey noises and racist slurs.

In a further cruel turn of fate, the wrong body was released from the morgue when it came to Mr Alder being laid to rest two years later, and the body of Grace Kamara - a Nigerian lady in her seventies - was instead buried in his place.

Christopher's family did not find out they had been mourning the wrong body until 11 years later, and the body of Ms Kamara had to be exhumed. He was finally buried the following year – 14 years after his death.

Despite an inquest ruling a verdict of unlawful killing, no individual or organisation has ever been officially held to account for what happened to Mr Alder, and the subsequent trauma of the wrong burial.

"It's something that still gives me nightmares," his sister Janet Alder said.

Ms Alder, now 58 and living in West Yorkshire, has continued to campaign for the past two decades for justice for Christopher. She spoke to The Yorkshire Post as this month marks 20 years since the wrong burial, and she is currently crowdfunding for legal action against South Yorkshire Police who investigated the mix-up.

Five officers were charged in 2002 with manslaughter and misconduct over Mr Alder's death, then acquitted at the orders of the judge. An Independent Police Complaints Commission review found the officers were guilty of "the most serious neglect of duty" and "unwitting racism".

Mr Alder's clothing from the night of his death, meanwhile, was destroyed.

"All I can think about is the amount of lies involved in Christopher’s case," Ms Alder said.

"It’s absolutely disgusting.

"We buried Christopher in 2000 and in 2011, I found out his body was still in the mortuary.

"It was a 77-year-old Nigerian lady we buried – she had been in the mortuary at the time as her family couldn’t get a visa to come over after she'd died.

"South Yorkshire Police investigated the mix up. I believe that the evidence is there and that they’ve dismissed it. But my solicitor said there was no reasonable investigator who could have messed those up. Personally, I just think they didn’t want to go through with all the paperwork.

"[Police] were asking me all the questions and tried to turn it on me, as if I was the one that was responsible. They asked me who released Christopher’s body from the mortuary that day.

"How would I know that? It’s not my job to know things like that."

South Yorkshire Police told The Yorkshire Post it was "aware of the concerns raised by Mrs Alder" and was "currently exploring the detail of those concerns”.

The case has turned Ms Alder's life upside down, and as well as her campaign for justice she is also raising money to write a book about what happened to her brother.

"Psychologically, I have had trouble sleeping and suffer from constant nightmares – I had one the other night about Christopher in his grave.

"It’s just absolutely traumatic. I constantly wake up in sweats. I feel totally isolated and just feel sleepless. My nerves are absolutely shattered."

"I am trying to repair myself slowly," she added.

Over the years, the case has garnered support from social justice campaigners, in particular from the Black Lives Matter movement who earlier this year asked Ms Alder to speak at a protest in Hull city centre.

"I couldn’t not speak at the protest," she said.

"What happened with George Floyd triggered everything again for me.

"I think racism in this country is hidden a lot better. Why do people not know about Christopher’s case, when it’s so horrific? It's definitely been kept under wraps more."

Last year, some 18 people died either in, or directly after, being in police custody in England and Wales, according to figures released last month by police watchdog IOPC. Of these, 14 were white, three were Black and one whose ethnicity was not recorded.

The number of Black British people who die in custody remains disproportionate, as they make up only three per cent of the overall population.

A Government report published earlier this month revealed that 85 per cent of Black people do not think they would be treated the same by police as a fellow white citizen.

Despite this, police are making efforts to further diversify their work forces to better reflect BAME people within the communities they serve.

Ms Alder added: "If people saw the actual video evidence of these deaths, they would be shocked.

"People have a lot more respect for police here and we're not used to challenging them as much, but I think a lot are in denial.

"I’m shocked that so many people don’t know about Christopher’s case."

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.