Mother of Harry Dunn expressed her “unspeakable hurt” at learning that her son’s murderer had declined to provide live testimony at his inquiry.
Last year, US government employee Anne Sacoolas received a request from Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember inviting her to attend virtually on Monday.
The offer of remote attendance “has not been taken up,” according to Mr. Dunn’s inquiry at Sessions House in Northampton. His mother, Charlotte Charles, described this as a “disrespectful” and “incomprehensible” move.
Tuesday is when Sacoolas’s evidence will be read in court; it will contain a “significant statement” from her, as well as excerpts from her October 2019 police interrogation and her December 2018 witness statement.
Four days before the inquest was scheduled to start, on Thursday, the Dunn family received word of her unwillingness to provide live testimony.
during the time of the event, Sacoolas gave police a “full account” in which she accepted “full responsibility for her actions,” according to her attorney, Ben Cooper KC, who testified during the inquest.
She had offered to “answer any further questions” and had “provided everything she could to help this inquest,” according to him.
Following the August 2019 crash, Sacoolas told police, “I was so stupid,” and was observed crying and holding her head in her hands, according to Northamptonshire Police Constable Al Knapper, who was on the scene.
In her pen portrait of her son, which was provided on Monday, Mrs. Charles discussed Sacoolas’s choice to skip the inquiry.
“I wanted to say that, as a mother, I find it completely incomprehensible and extremely disappointing that Anne Sacoolas will not be attending Harry’s inquest this week,” the woman stated.
She had the option to provide our family and I with this chance to truly comprehend what led to to Harry’s demise that evening. However, no.
“It feels disrespectful to Harry, his life and the future he lost, and I am incredibly hurt that she has chosen to hide instead.”
Briony Ballard, the inquest’s counsel, stated that the coroner was not allowed to “force or compel an individual to attend.”
“I know that she has been offered remote attendance, but once more, the coroner has no jurisdiction outside of Northamptonshire,” the woman stated.
“There has been no response to that remote offer.
“In her witness statement, she addressed concerns regarding training.
“I am aware that she is available to respond to any written inquiries.
At a pre-inquest review hearing in November, Sacoolas’s attorney, Ben Cooper KC, stated that the US citizen was “keen to assist the inquest.”
Before she collided with Mr. Dunn’s bike on August 27, 2019, she was operating a Volvo on the incorrect side of the road outside of RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
Sacoolas was granted diplomatic protection by the US State Department, allowing her to depart the UK 19 days following the deadly crash.
In December 2022, she appeared via video connection before a High Court judge at the Old Bailey, where she entered a guilty plea to causing death by careless driving.
After Sacoolas’ employer recommended her not to attend her sentence hearing, the family expressed their “horror” that the US government was “actively interfering in our criminal justice system”
Sacoolas received an eight-month prison sentence with a 12-month suspension from Mrs. Justice Cheema-Grubb.
Following the teen’s death, the Dunn family carried on a four-year campaign for justice in the US, which even resulted in a meeting with then-President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.
The next four days of the inquest are still scheduled.
