Why did police ask a drug dealer to identify my son's body?

Heather Davidson said family members were available to confirm the deceased was her 32-year-old son Raymond, who was found dead in his apartment on June 17.

Larne police have now offered to meet with Mrs Davidson to address her concerns. See page 4

THE mother of a man who died in Carnlough last summer has claimed that police invited a drug dealer to formally identify the body.

Heather Davidson said family members were available for the legal procedure after her 32-year-old son Raymond, who was found dead in his apartment on June 17.

It has been reported that Raymond, a heroin addict, was killed by a dose of the drug which his body could not cope with as he had been in rehabilitation for some time. However, Heather said an inquest had yet to be held and she has still to be told if her son died of an overdose, or if he had been sold a bad batch of heroin.

The grieving mother, who was on holiday with a daughter in Turkey when Raymond died, clashed spectacularly with Ballymena Mayor James Currie on the Nolan Show on Radio Ulster last week after the UUP councillor claimed the drug problem in the town was “no better and no worse than any other town”. After he was challenged by Carnlough-born Heather, who lives in Ballymena, Cllr Currie asked: “Do you think it was wise to go to Turkey when he was not fully recovered?” The question prompted outraged callers to contact the programme, but Cllr Currie later maintained that was a “legitimate” query.

That night, Heather attended an anti-drugs meeting in Ballymena’s Braid Centre, where she told a 100-strong audience that her son’s body had been discovered “by two drug dealers” from the town.

On Monday night, Heather told the Larne Times that police in Ballymena who phoned her after Raymond’s body was found had not known she was out of the country. Having established that she was Raymond’s mother, but that she was in Turkey,they said they could not discuss the matter further on the phone and did not tell her he was dead. “They told me to enjoy the rest of my holiday,” she added.

Having telephoned relatives and learned of her son’s death, Heather caught the first available flight home to find that the tragedy had become mired in controversy.

Raymond had died two or three days before his body was discovered. “The two men who found him were known drug dealers from Ballymena and the police asked one of them to identify the body,” Heather said.

“They were supposed to be close friends of Raymond’s, but when we got his phone back from the police their numbers weren’t on it. They didn’t go to the funeral and they have never approached anybody in the family to offer their sympathy or anything like that and you’d think they would do that if they had been such good friends.”

Heather said Raymond’s father had made himself available for the formal identification, but was later told he was no longer required. She added that other family members were also available, in her absence.

The manner in which the identification was conducted upset the family. Heather said her son was buried without her seeing him because the family had been advised against opening the coffin.

“I had to plead with the police in Larne to release pictures months later so that I knew it was my son, because as far as I was concerned Raymond could still be out there.”

Heather remains sceptical of the circumstances surrounding Raymond’s death and has queried aspects of the investigation. She said: “Raymond left Ballymena to go to Carnlough to get away from drugs and where had family close by and he was doing very well.”

The former barman had almost completed a rehabilitation programme, had started to attend church and played at concerts with the Broughshane-based Sir George White Flute Band.

Heather said: “For 16 years, Raymond had been getting drugs in Ballymena and he never had to leave the town to get them. It was Raymond’s choice to take drugs, but he had tried to get off them and his doctor told us: ‘We thought we had nailed it.’”

The family believe that items including a necklace, a bracelet, a laptop and a bike were stolen from Raymond’s flat. “The police think because he was a drug addict he probably sold them to get drugs, but we know he would never have parted with the necklace and the bracelet and in any case he had money in his bank account. He didn’t need to sell anything,” said Heather.

She added: “We told the police in Larne that a member of the family had been approached and told that Raymond’s stuff was in Ballymena, if we wanted it. We said we would go through the proper channels, but the police told us we shouldn’t listen to hearsay.”

Heather said she asked the police some months ago if any fingerprints other than Raymond’s had been found on a needle discovered in his flat. “They have yet to get back to me,” she added.

On Tuesday afternoon, a PSNI spokesman told us: “We recognise that this is a very personal tragedy for the mother of the deceased and having listened to her concerns on the radio we have arranged to meet her to discuss the issues raised.”

Heather said last week’s exchange with Cllr Currie had prompted her to speak out: “I didn’t say anything at the time (of Raymond’s death). Maybe I should have, but I wasn’t ready and now I feel that Raymond’s story has to be told because I am so angry that he was found by two drug dealers and that one of them identified him and I am really cross about what the mayor said.

“I’m not doing it for my own sake, but If it means that even one person doesn’t get involved in drugs it will have been worth it and I know if Raymond was still here he would be telling people not to take drugs.”