Brother of man found dead at Michael Barrymore’s pool party fear they will never get justice after pathologist who botched death probe dies
- Stuart Lubbock was found with severe internal injuries and was possibly raped
- The 31-year-old had been at Barrymore’s party along with seven other guests
The brother of Stuart Lubbock who was found dead at Michael Barrymore’s pool party has said his family fear they will never find justice following the death of the pathologist who botched the postmortem.
Stuart, 31, was found dead with severe internal injuries in Strike It Lucky star Barrymore’s pool at his £2million home in Roydon, Essex, on March 31, 2001, after a party with just seven other guests.
Dr Michael Heath’s postmortem told of of how Stuart had drowned but tests completed later concluded that he also had marks on his face that indicated possible asphyxiation.
This could have been caused from an arm held round him during possible sexual assault.
Dr Heath was at the helm of forensic investigations in thousands of major criminal cases, including the victims of Moors murderer Myra Hindley.
Stuart Lubbock (pictured), 31, was found dead in Barrymore’s pool with severe internal injuries
Michael Barrymore (pictured outside the High Court in London in 2021) was hosting a party with seven other guests at his £2million home in Roydon, Essex, on March 31, 2001, when Stuart died
Stuart’s brother Kevin Luddock (pictured) has said he fears the family will never see justice after the pathologist who blundered the portmortem died
But in 2001 his work on Stuart’s death was found to differ from those of other pathologists.
In 2009 the General Medical Council (GMC) found Dr Heath guilty of serious misconduct, but ruled his fitness to practise was not impaired.
The Home Office pathologist resigned and shortly after it emerged that nine further murder and manslaughter convictions involving evidence given by Dr Heath were being reviewed.
Of the bungled postmortem, Stuart’s brother Kevin, 55, said: ‘Dr Heath should have been struck off years ago.
‘Instead, his slap-dash judgements led to many wrong decisions at inquests, notably Stuart’s.
‘He has caused families untold pain and left many without answers. With his death, it’s doubtful any families touched by Dr Heath will get any true justice, including ours,’ he told the Sunday Mirror last night.
Terry Lubbock, who died of terminal cancer in 2021, fought for justice for more than 20 years following his son Stuart’s death.
A man in his 50s was detained on suspicion of murder and sexual assault in March 2021 in the North of England after Essex Police said ‘significant new information’ had come to light.
But the force admitted in September of that year there was ‘insufficient evidence to reach the level where there is a realistic chance of a successful prosecution’ over the death in March 2001.
Mr Lubbock senior, a retired toolmaker who lived in Harlow, then released a harrowing statement laying bare his devastation at the lack of resolution.
Pathologist Dr Michael Heath (pictured outside the Epping Forest Coroner’s Office) is under fresh investigation
Mr Lubbock had been attending a party at Barrymore’s luxury home in Roydon with eight other people on March 31, 2001
Police believe Mr Lubbock was sexually assaulted and murdered with his body possibly moved from a jacuzzi to make it look like he had accidentally drowned
Litany of failings in high-profile cases led to scrutiny of top pathologist
Dr Michael Heath carried out the post-mortem on 32-year-old Stuart Lubbock who was found dead in Michael Barrymore’s pool in Roydon, Essex, in 2001.
In 2006 the Home Office Advisory Board found Dr Heath bungled post-mortem examinations of two women, leading to their partners being accused of murder.
Steven Puaca was jailed in 2002 for killing Jacqueline Tindsley.
But his conviction was quashed in November 2005 when the Court of Appeal heard there was not enough evidence to support Dr Heath’s conclusion she had died of asphyxia.
Kenneth Fraser, accused of murdering Mary Anne Moore, was cleared in 2002 by a jury at a trial.
Dr Heath said her death was not caused by falling down stairs but by impact with a sharp object, contrary to four other pathologists, according to The Telegraph.
And unreliability of Dr Heath’s evidence led to an appeal being granted for road rage killer Kenneth Noye, which later failed.
The message on Twitter, which was accompanied by a photo of the gaunt pensioner lying on his care home bed, said: ‘Someone knows who killed Stuart Lubbock. I will die of a broken heart. Stuart was murdered at the former home of Michael Barrymore in Roydon, Essex.’
A post-mortem examination found Mr Lubbock suffered internal injuries suggesting he had been raped.
Barrymore’s career imploded in the aftermath of the death, which happened after he and his then partner, Jonathan Kenney, spent the night out in Harlow.
They went home with a small group of people they met in a club including butcher Mr Lubbock, 31, a divorced father of two.
Barrymore – who later apologised after fleeing before police arrived, saying that he had ‘panicked’ – has always denied any knowledge of what happened.
He, Mr Kenney, 51, and another guest at the party, former dustman Justin Merritt, 47, were arrested in 2007 but later released without charge.
The latest arrest came after police renewed their appeal for information last year and offered a £20,000 reward, later increased to £40,000.
It coincided with a Channel 4 documentary about the case.
DCI Jennings said at the time that one or more of the eight other people at the property were involved and others might know what happened.
Mr Lubbock’s death was initially assumed to be an accident by officers, who failed to secure the crime scene.
A coroner recorded an open verdict in 2002 after failing to confirm the cause of death. Alcohol, ecstasy and cocaine were found in his bloodstream.
Barrymore, now a recovering alcoholic who lives in west London, has tried to rekindle his career without success, including a stint on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.
The other seven guests present on the night that Mr Lubbock died
Jonathan Kenney
Kenney, 50, from Blackpool in Lancashire, was Barrymore’s boyfriend at the time of Mr Lubbock’s death.
He was formerly a drag queen but more recently had been working as a driving test examiner.
Kenney, along with Barrymore, invited the other seven guests over to the house after they partied together at the Millennium nightclub in Harlow, Essex.
He was one of three people arrested on suspicion of murder by Essex Police in 2007 before he was later released without charge.
Justin Merritt
Former dustman Justin, 46, was unemployed when he went back to Barrymore’s house along with his sister Kylie.
Reports from the time claimed Justin was an ‘unofficial minder’ to the TV star during that night.
He had walked up to Barrymore outside the nightclub earlier and said: ‘I’ll look after you. I’ll be your security to get you home.’
Mr Merritt claimed to have shared a Jacuzzi with Mr Lubbock and last saw him alive ‘bombing’ in the pool and in high spirits.
He, along with Barrymore and Kenney, were arrested on suspicion of murder before ultimately being released.
Kylie Merritt
Kylie was Justin’s sister and had been present with him in the nightclub when Justin had offered to be Barrymore’s minder on the night.
The siblings, along with Barrymore and Mr Lubbock shared a taxi back to the house.
Miss Merritt would later claim that she had then seen Mr Lubbock ‘larking about’ by himself in the swimming pool.
On another occasion, she said she saw Barrymore with two men in a small room near his bedroom door.
She would also claim that Barrymore had produced cocaine on the night and had tried to rub the drug into My Lubbock’s gums, something he denied.
Ms Merritt infamously took a lie detector test for the News of the World, which suggested she was not being truthful when questioned about what happened that day.
James Futers
Mr Futers, 41, was a chef who lived near Barrymore in Roydon, Essex.
He would tell a court how the TV star offered him ‘white powder’ shortly after he arrived at the house for the party.
Later he would add that he believed the drug to be cocaine.
Mr Futers had met Barrymore on several previous occasions to have a drink and ‘play cards’.
He had been at the nightclub with Barrymore that night and had agreed to go back to his house for an ‘impromptu’ gathering.
Simon Shaw
Mr Shaw had been invited to the party due to his friendship with Barrymore’s neighbour Mr Futers.
During court testimony, he recounted how he spotted Mr Lubbock in the pool and jumped in to help him.
He said he tried to pull him up from the bottom of the pool but found him to heavy, returning for breath before going back and successfully lifting him out.
Mr Shaw then left the home with Mr Futers as he thought ‘what happened was a bit scary’, and was joined by Barrymore.
They all went back to Mr Shaw’s house, where they spoke about what had occurred while Barrymore made phone calls to his ‘PR man’.
Claire Jones and Kelly Campbell
Ms Jones, a 17-year-old cashier at the time, and her friend Kelly Campbell, both now 37, had only met Barrymore hours early at the nightclub when they were invited back for the party.
She would later tell police how she saw Barrymore rummaging through drawers and changing his clothes before police arrived.
Ms Jones also told police that when Barrymore left the house he had a ‘bundle of material’ under his arm.
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