A senior coroner is due to review all the evidence she has regarding the death of former NHL and Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson on Friday.
The 29-year-old died after being cut in the neck by a skate during a Challenge Cup match between his club and the Sheffield Steelers on October 28. The Nottingham Panthers described it as a “freak accident”.
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South Yorkshire Police (SYP) opened an investigation and a man was arrested in November on suspicion of manslaughter and subsequently bailed following Johnson’s death.
And now Tanyka Rawden, a senior coroner at Sheffield Coroner’s Court, is set to hold a desktop review of the progress of the investigation tomorrow.
The review will be conducted in private and if Rawden is satisfied the investigation is complete, then she will determine whether or not to hold a pre-inquest review hearing or decide if the inquest can be listed without one.
However, if she believes the investigation is not complete, then further instructions will be issued to her officer and another date will be set.
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An inquest into the death of Johnson had been opened on November 3 and then immediately adjourned until January 26 after a brief hearing at Sheffield’s Medico-Legal Centre.
The inquest heard that Johnson was taken to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital on October 28, where he died later that day as a result of his injury.
On November 14, SYP detective chief superintendent Becs Horsfall had offered some detail as to the exact nature of the force’s enquiries.
“Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive enquiries ever since to piece together the events that led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances,” she said, in a statement published on the SYP website.
“We have been speaking to highly specialised experts in their field to assist in our enquiries and continue to work closely with the health and safety department at Sheffield City Council, which is supporting our ongoing investigation.
“Adam’s death has sent shockwaves through many communities, from residents here to ice hockey fans across the world.”
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(Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
