Mum fighting for 'justice' after son died in police custody 'speaks to his photo every night'

James Riley died the day after he was arrested by police officers on suspicion of drugs offences

The mum of a man who died in police custody said she speaks to a photo of him every night. Julie Riley's son James was pronounced dead at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital the day after he was arrested on suspicion of drugs offences in the Scotland Road area in March 2023.

An inquest into Mr Riley's death opened yesterday, Monday, May 12 at the Gerard Majella courthouse in Vauxhall in front of a jury of 11 people, made up of six men and five women. Before Liverpool and Wirral senior coroner André Rebello opened the facts of the case, he read a statement that had been written by Mrs Riley about her son.

The court heard Mr Riley was "well mannered and dressed lovely" when he was a boy. He had three younger siblings and was particularly close to his brother Terence, with his mum describing the pair as "loveable rogues". She said her son was "funny, bubbly and cheeky" and recalled a fond memory of when he was around 10 years old and dressed as Shirley Bassey during a caravan holiday.

However, Mrs Riley said her sons "experienced an extremely traumatic incident" with two friends when they were teenagers. The mum said: "He should have had support from Merseyside Police, but he was forgotten about."

Mrs Riley said after the experience her son "got involved with the wrong crowd" and added: "It's hard to get out once you are in it." However, she said her son remained a "happy go lucky person who always had a smile on his face".

The mum said he was "an incredible cook" whose favourites included curries and spaghetti Bolognese. She added: "He would never let me help him, he had to do it all himself." She said he also loved to watch Liverpool FC from the sofa with her.

The mum added: "He was such a character...we have so many happy memories." She said she was emotional about the proceedings but "needed to get through it to get some justice". The statement finished: "I speak to a photo of him every night - I miss him so much."

Mrs Riley, who was represented in court by Michael Wall, left the courtroom in tears while Mr Rebello read the statement. She returned to the court shortly after, supported by her instructing solicitors.

Opening the case, Mr Rebello told the court that Mr Riley was arrested at around 9.45pm on March 14 2023 by two officers who took him to St Anne Street Police Station. The court heard his detention was authorised and he was placed in a rest period until the following morning on March 15 2023.

Mr Riley was seen at 9.59am by a healthcare professional who determined his substance levels showed he had "either self medicated or had substances in his cell". A strip search was authorised and Mr Riley was placed into a further rest period.

Mr Riley was seen again in the afternoon, but during a routine observation at 4.57pm, a detention officer saw him lying on the ground. Two other officers and a healthcare professional attended and an ambulance was called. Mr Riley was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 6.15pm.

The court heard that an independent Home Office post-mortem was carried out by Dr Matthew Lyall, who determined in his report that the cause of death was due to cocaine and heroin toxicity.

Mr Rebello said during the doctor's examinations, wraps of suspected drugs were found in Mr Riley's stomach and also in his right lung. This position was put down to movement during resuscitation efforts.

The inquest, which is listed for eight days, will hear from police officers, detention staff and healthcare professionals. The inquest continues.