I read with absolute the horror of the events following the tragic death of Bristol boxing promoter Michael Graydon. I didn’t know him, nor had I ever met him, but the story of his disappearance in Monaco and the subsequent discovery of his body devastated not just a family but a whole community. And just when you thought the story couldn’t get any worse, it did get worse. His body was buried at St Mary Redcliffe church without his heart and his brain.
When Graydon’s body was found on 6 March 2015, his body was too badly decomposed for the post mortem to establish the precise cause of death although his injuries were consistent with a fall. The body was then returned to the UK whereupon a second post mortem took place, which was unable to establish a cause of death. The coroner’s cause cannot have been greatly assisted by the discovery that the body had been embalmed and the heart and brain removed. Indeed, the absence of the brain meant there could be no examination of the impact of the fall.
I do not know the precise reasons why Graydon’s vital organs were removed and, apparently, disposed of. Is this a normal procedure in Monaco and if so to what purpose? As a layman, I cannot for the life of me understand why.
The family, who have surely suffered enough, have now been put through the ringer again. His mum said:”I just feel like we are right back to where we started. I went to Monaco to bring my son home and I thought we had done that, but we haven’t at all. Not without his heart. How can I leave his heart over there? We have a whole other battle on our hands now, and I don’t know if we will ever get him all back.”
How on earth could the authorities be so cruel and thoughtless? The are big questions to be answered here and the family needs to know them pretty damn quick. If it happened to Michael Graydon, it could happen to anyone.
It must be bad enough to lose a son in such tragic circumstances, but to then remove vital organs, especially his heart, without telling the family is beyond tragedy.
People need closure and instead they have been inflicted with still more painful wounds. It isn’t good enough and its time for the authorities and politicians to get this matter sorted and sorted now.
