Family appeal police ombudsman's decision on probe into Waterford man's morgue delay

Jamie Weldon's six siblings also had concerns that a complaint made about missing items was not followed up

The body of Jamie Weldon, who was originally from Butlerstown in Waterford, was found in his Iveagh Trust apartment on Upper Kevin Street in Dublin on August 19, 2023 — on his 57th birthday.

The family of a Waterford man who lay in a Dublin morgue for almost a month has appealed a decision by the police ombudsman to reject a complaint about the garda handling of an investigation into his death.

The body of Jamie Weldon, who was originally from Butlerstown in Waterford, was found in his Iveagh Trust apartment on Upper Kevin Street in Dublin on August 19, 2023 — on his 57th birthday. His last contact with people had been on July 28, 2023.

Mr Weldon’s six siblings only discovered, after making a welfare check request on August 25, 2023, that remains believed to be that of their brother were in the Dublin City Morgue.

He was identified through the use of a DNA sample provided by one of his brothers at Kevin Street Garda Station on August 29. His remains were released to his family on September 15.

The family’s complaint centred on the delay between the discovery of Jamie’s body and informing his family that remains of a person believed to be Jamie were in Dublin City Morgue, as well as concerns that a complaint made about missing items including his most recent PPS card was not followed up.

Jamie Weldon's phone

In appealing the decision by Fiosru, the Office of the Police Ombudsman, the family says Jamie Weldon’s phone was in his apartment on the date his body was found. They claim it was never turned on by investigating gardaí as his sister turned it on on October 21, 2023 and discovered that the weather widget on it showed July 31. 

The phone had been in possession of gardaí until his identification. His family believes that if gardaí had turned on the device, they would have been able to access his last calls and made contact faster with his family to notify them of his death.

The family also question why cards and other items in his apartment were not used as clues to help gardaí find them in the immediate aftermath of the discovery of his remains.

Appeal letter

In an appeal letter, seen by the Irish Examiner, Jamie’s sister Fiona, on behalf of the family, said the delay in notifying them “has caused our family much distress”.

She added: “His previous experiences of homelessness, the location where he was found — the Iveagh Trust building — and the condition in which his body was discovered all point to a deeply concerning lack of urgency, dignity, and compassion in how his case was handled.”