Shape of Snakes

DR. ANTHONY DEVERILL, MRCPATH, 25

AVENUE ROAD, CHISWICK, LONDON W4

Mrs. M. Ranelagh

P.O. Box 103

Langley

Sydney

Australia

February 6, 1985

Dear Mrs. Ranelagh,

Thank you for your letter of January 10, together with the enclosed postmortem photographs of Miss Ann Butts and the written report from Professor James Webber. As you so rightly say, I have met Professor Webber on several occasions and have a high regard for his judgment. Indeed, after studying the photographs myself, I have no reason to disagree with his detailed assessment that Miss Butts received the injuries to her face and arm some hours before her death.

Your specific request was for information on my predecessor Dr. Benjamin Hanley, who conducted the postmortem in November '78. You say that both you and your father made unsuccessful attempts to contact him over the years, and that the only response either of you had was when his secretary admitted to your father over the telephone in 1982 that the file relating to Miss Butts's postmortem was "missing." Unfortunately, a search of the archive files appears to confirm this last statement, as the only evidence that Dr. Hanley conducted a postmortem on Miss Butts is an entry beside his name on the work schedule for 15.11.78-"10:30 a.m. Butts. RTA. Report requested by PS Drury, Richmond."

You may be interested to learn that Miss Butts's file is not the only one we have been unable to locate. Of the 103 entries against Dr. Hanley's name on the '78, '79 and '81 rosters, nine are currently "missing." Re your specific inquiries:

1. As you already know, Dr. Hanley was compulsorily retired on medical grounds in 1982 and died of liver failure eighteen months later. However, the compulsory element to his retirement related to a deterioration in his work and performance over a twelve-month period and not to a diagnosed medical condition since he refused to consult a doctor. This is not unusual among pathologists who deal with death every day and can forecast their own prognoses. In simple terms. Dr. Hanley was a chronic alcoholic who be came increasingly incapable of doing the job assigned to him. The "medical" tag was attached to the retirement order to allow him to keep his pension, but the cirrhosis that killed him was not discovered until shortly before his death when he was admitted to hospital. These facts are a matter of public record, and I betray no confidences by passing them on to you.

2. I worked alongside Dr. Hanley for two and half years-from September '79, to March '82, when he retired-and I am sorry to say that I had serious reservations about his competence from the beginning. It is, of course, impossible for me to comment on a postmortem that a) took place before I joined the team and b) has no supporting documentation on file; however, it is my considered opinion that Dr. Hanley's alcoholism would certainly have affected his judgment in November '78.

3. I have no precise knowledge of Dr. Hanley's relationship with PS Drury of Richmond Police, nor can I validate your contention that: "Dr. Hanley may have taken direction from PS Drury and produced a report that suited Richmond Police." However, I expressed concern on several occasions that Dr. Hanley was compromising the independence of his department by writing postmortem reports that appeared to mimic the police version of affairs. Two of these incidents are now under official investigation. In defense of Dr. Hanley, I do not believe there was any malicious intent behind his actions, simply a recognition that he could no longer cope with the demands of his job and a compensatory willingness to place too much confidence in the "hunches" of certain police officers. I should say that in most cases this would not be a cause for concern-most of the deaths we see are "natural"-but clearly it could create problems where facts are disputed.

4. I can say with absolute certainty that Dr. Hanley would have had no racist motive for ignoring evidence of murder in the case of Miss Butts. I am black myself and never experienced any sort of prejudice at his hands. He was a kindly man who had no interest in politics and clearly found his job distressing, particularly when he was obliged to open the chest cavities of women and children, which he began to see as an "unnecessary mutilation."

5. In the absence of a file, I am afraid there is very little assistance I can give you other than to support Professor Webber's interpretation of the photographs. As mentioned above, nine sets of case notes seem to be missing and there is some evidence that Dr. Hanley destroyed them himself prior to leaving the department. In view of his long service record, a decision was taken to allow him to "work out" a three-month notice and we believe he used that time to remove any files that he believed to contain questionable findings. Sadly, he appeared to become deeply confused about the "examiner's" role in society and consistently questioned the value of "righteous judges." However, there is no proof of this and any such speculation could never be used in court.

In conclusion, I am happy to give my permission for this letter to be used as supporting evidence for the deterioration in Dr. Hanley's performance and standard of work during the years I worked with him, all of which is already in the public domain. Beyond that, I can only advise you to gather as much supporting evidence as you can, from whichever source, in order to present a tight and compelling argument for a reopening of the investigation into Miss Butts's death.

Trusting this is of help,

With all best wishes,

A. Deverill

Dr. Anthony Deverill