Inquests begin into victims of killer taxi driver

THE inquests into the deaths of mass killer Derrick Bird and the 12 victims he gunned down begin this week.

Taxi driver Bird, 52, went on a shooting rampage as he drove around west Cumbria on June 2 last year before he turned a gun on himself.

The hearing before a jury in Workington, which opens tomorrow, will analyse all 13 deaths in chronological order and is expected to last up to six weeks.

Up to 75 witnesses are expected to give evidence in person while statements from others will be read.

David Roberts, HM Coroner for North and West Cumbria, has ruled it was not helpful for the flow of the inquiry to separate Bird’s inquest from his victims as he was inextricably linked to their fates.

A key part of the evidence will be the examination of the murderer’s state of mind on the day, in particular the events leading up to the moment he claimed the life of his first victim — his own twin brother David.

The jury, drawn from Cumbria, will then be invited to retire and consider its verdicts.

Bird, from Rowrah, also injured 11 others in his shooting spree in Lamplugh, Frizington, Whitehaven, Egremont, Gosforth and Seascale before he was found dead in a wooded area near Boot — just more than three hours after his first victim was found by officers.

An independent police review on how Cumbria Constabulary reacted tactically and strategically on the day will now be used in evidence at the inquest. The full review is not likely to be released until the end of the hearing.