Man who found James Bulger's body died after night in police custody as cause revealed

The man who found the body of little James Bulger as a teenager likely swallowed packages of drugs before his death in custody years later. James Riley, 44, had been arrested by officers on suspicion of drug offences.

Later, he was found dead on the floor of the cell he was kept in overnight by in March, 2023. Mr Riley was later pronounced dead a the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. A jury inquest heard before Liverpool and Wirral senior coroner André Rebello, held over six days at the Gerard Majella courthouse in Kirkdale, concluded Mr Riley's medical cause of death was cocaine and heroin toxicity.

The inquest was called to look into if the decision not to take Mr Riley to hospital on the day of his arrest before he collapsed contributed to his cause of death. The court also heard Mr Riley suffered an "extremely traumatic incident" when he was a teenager, which was confirmed to his finding of the body of toddler James Bulger.In previous appearances in court, Mr Riley's defence said he suffered with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of finding James' body. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both aged 11, were found guilty in 1993 of killing the two-year-old.

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Mr Rebello told the jury that Mr Riley was arrested at around 8:46pm by two offcers Arresting officer PC Graeme Hurd told the court he bserved Mr Riley on a pedal cycle and concluded he "looked like he was in possession of what I thought was going to be drugs".

PC Hurd, who is part of a, said he made the decision to use force to apprehend Mr Riley and decided to make contact with the front wheel of his bike with the front of his car. The Merseyside cop said this was "less risk to everybody".

The court heard PC Hurd made contact with the bike with the "force equivalent of pushing someone off the bike". Mr Riley was eventually rugby tackled to the ground by PC Hurd and was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply after he was found with "three large bags of brown powder", the ECHO reported.

Mr Riley's detention was authorised at the St Anne Street Police Station. A ustody sergeant determined he was intoxicated and he was placed on a rest period until the following morning.

Shortly before 10am, Mr Riley was seen by a healthcare professional, who noted that his presentation suggested he may have self-medicated in custody. A strip search was conducted but nothing was found.

Later, after a further four hour rest period was authorised after 2pm, Mr Riley was returned to his cell at 3:22pm. A detention officer saw him lying on the floor at 4:57pm.

Staff were called to the cell and the healthcare professional administered naloxone to reverse the effects of opiates and diazepam to prevent further seizures. An ambulance was called and Mr Riley arrived at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital at 5.47pm. He arrived in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 6.15pm.

A post-mortem examination by the Home Office found Mr Riley had three packages of heroin and a small block of unpackaged crack cociane in his stomach. Dr Matthew Lyall, who carried out the post-mortem, also found a piece of plastic wrapping in his airway which, more likely than not, moved during resuscitation attempts.

The inquest found that the reason for Mr Riley's presentation at various points on the day of his collapse can be established, but can't be said to have contributed to his death. The medical assessments carried out on the day of his collapse may have presented a missed opportunity, but can't be said to have contributed to his death.

"On the balance of probabilities, it is more likely than not, that James swallowed the drugs before his arrival in custody," the inquest concluded. "The drugs concealed within James's stomach are, more likely than not, the source of the fatal drug toxicity."

The inquest was attended by Mr Riley's mum Julie, who prepared a statement with Mr Rebello about her son. The court heard Mr Riley was "well mannered and dressed lovely" when he was a boy. He had three younger siblings and was particularly close to his brother Terence, with his mum describing the pair as "loveable rogues".