Plymouth student death: Family 'massively let down'

Romello McCook's parents said they were "ignored" in the British Transport Police investigation

A police watchdog is reviewing investigations by British Transport Police (BTP) into a student's death.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) review follows criticism of investigations into the death of Romello McCook, 22, in Plymouth.

His family said his death had "been written off as an accident" after his body was found on rail tracks.

BTP said the "full circumstances of the incident were subject to a detailed assessment by officers".

The University of Plymouth architecture student, from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was found dead near Plymouth's Laira train depot on 30 September 2018.

According to his parents Lawrence and Vivienne, he "loved Plymouth" and had chosen the university above several others for his studies.

"The minute he went to Plymouth he knew where he wanted to be," said Mrs McCook.

The night before he died he had been at a nightclub with friends until about 06:00 BST, celebrating the start of a new term.

Romello McCook was walking along the track near the Laira depot when he was struck by a train

A few hours later he went to a shared students' house in Belgrave Road and at about 10:00 BST he was seen by a train driver walking along the rail track at Laira, said a BTP report into his death.

Despite the driver sounding the train's horn and braking, Mr McCook was hit by the train and was fatally injured, said the report.

BTP reported the death as "non-suspicious", and after complaints from the family, BTP held its own review into the investigation and came to the same conclusion.

But the family raised concerns about what they felt were gaps in the investigation and Thames Valley Police's (TVP) major crime review team took another look.

The report in 2019, which the BBC has seen, said BTP's investigation had "only centred upon what happened on the railway" and not the events leading up to it.

The BTP investigator mistakenly told the family Mr McCook's mobile phone was being held by the force, but in fact it has never been found, a report said

Mr McCook had been found at Laira, in the opposite direction to his student house in Glen Park Avenue.

"What caused Romello to be at this spot, some miles from his address and walking in the wrong direction appears never to have been considered by the initial investigation," said the report.

The BTP investigator mistakenly told the family Mr McCook's mobile phone was being held by the force, but in fact it has never been found, said the report.

A delay of nearly six weeks before realising the phone was not held by the force, "meant CCTV footage was disposed of which potentially could have been used to locate Romello and identify people that he was with".

The TVP report also said there had been a "lack of communication" by BTP with the family who were not contacted from 3 October to 10 November when they called BTP.

Mr McCook's father Lawrence said his only child's death had "conveniently been written off as an accident" and the family had been "ignored" by the BTP investigator.

They also said there was no proper investigation into how Romello got on to the tracks which are protected by high and spiked fencing.

"We just want answers about what happened to Romello," he said.

"Where did he go from six o'clock to 10 o'clock, why did he go in that direction, who did he meet?

"We were massively let down from day one."

An inquest is due to be held in February

BTP said in a statement that "every single death on the railway is a tragedy and our sympathies remain with Mr and Mrs McCook on the untimely death of their son".

"We acknowledge that despite extensive inquires to trace Romello's movements prior to accessing the railway lines some questions remain unanswered."

It added that after a "full and comprehensive review of the case into his death and how it was investigated" there was "still no evidence or information to indicate any suspicion or third party involvement, nor is there any suggestion that the service provided was different to what any grieving family should expect".

The IOPC said it would "examine all relevant material" and review BTP's own examination of its investigation.

"We decide whether the complaints have been satisfactorily addressed by the force, and whether an appropriate outcome was reached," said a spokesperson.

An inquest into Mr McCook's death is due to take place in February.