Dane Hamilton, the man whose partner died from being run over by a vehicle on his birthday five years ago, is calling on the police to conduct another inquest to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy on 28 March 2014.
He told OBSERVER media yesterday that since the High Court quashed the findings of an inquest that was completed in 2016, there has been no action from the police.
Hamilton said he and Hughes’ nine children deserve to know the truth and to get justice.
“The kids and dem don’t even know wha’ happen up to now, you know. And dem a get big and dem ah ask questions and me haffu hab proppa answers fuh give the kids. People go say all kinda thing and me love me family, me love me ‘oman and I was with her when she died, she died on my birthday… every time me birthday come is death day,” he said.
Hamilton said he is working hard to do his best as a father to the seven children he and Hughes shared. Hughes also had two other children prior to those with Hamilton.
The man said the majority of the children are still in school since their ages range from 10 to 19.
The father said although he received an insurance payout after winning a wrongful death claim, the money will certainly not replace his children’s mother – neither would it last long enough to cater for all their needs throughout school, including university.
He said he is tired of putting his children to bed at night under a cloud of uncertainty, and without knowing what happened or seeing the police take some sort of action.
“Me alone can’t support them. Me haffu go work and look after my kids … Dem ah my responsibility – you have ages 19, 18, 16, 14, 12 and 10,” he said. The 12, 14 and 16-year-olds amount to six of these children as they comprise three sets of twins.
The children’s 32-year-old mother died in hospital after she was run over by a vehicle that police said was driven by Mark Ryan.
The findings of the inquest were made public soon after it was completed and attorney Hugh Marshall Jr. challenged it on several grounds, as he identified several procedural discrepancies.
Hamilton said since the High Court made that decision two years ago, the police have done nothing to restart the investigation process and do it correctly.