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Ruth Stern with David Bowie, and right, jazz singer Gail Ann Dorsey |
Father faces grilling from his son at inquest into death of feminist poet
Coroner records natural causes verdict and rules out ‘direct third-party involvement’
THE son of a renowned feminist poet quizzed his father about her death during a tense coroner’s inquest on Monday.
Ruth Stern, a poet, campaigner and leading figure in Camden’s early feminist movement, died at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead in March.
Hospital staff concluded Mrs Stern had died from natural causes. But the inquest heard that days later an allegation was made to police that on the evening of Friday, March 16 – three days before she died – Mrs Stern had been the victim of an assault.
The allegation led to a second autopsy being carried out, the St Pancras inquest was told. But coroner Dr Andrew Reid ruled that Mrs Stern, 72, died from natural causes, a form of pneumonia that took hold as a result of her lung cancer.
At the inquest, her husband David gave evidence about the evening that led to a police investigation.
Nurse Jane Stewart described visiting Mrs Stewart at her home in Byron Mews, Fleet Road, Hampstead, on the Saturday to find the mother-of-four and grandmother-of-two in a “very anxious and frightened” state.
Mrs Stern told her son Geoffrey – who was not present at the inquest – and Ms Stewart that her husband had beaten her before dragging her upstairs in just her vest. The inquest heard that she begged Ms Stewart not to leave her alone that night.
Ms Stewart said: “I got a phone call from Geoff saying Ruth was in a terrible state. She said she’d been hit by her husband and dragged up the stairs, and that it took hours to get her to bed.
“When I arrived she immediately started chatting about what had happened, how she was frightened, how we were not to leave her alone. Geoff was beside himself and wanted to remove her from the home. He said his father was killing her.”
Police found no evidence to suggest Mrs Stern had been beaten.
David Stern, a company director, told the inquest: “My wife indicated she wanted to go to the loo. I then heard a thud – she’d fell off the loo. I picked her up, she was incoherent, she couldn’t talk, couldn’t stand up. I didn’t know what to do. I was alone with her. She didn’t want to go to hospital.”
Mr Stern described himself as “volatile” compared with his son Peter, who was “much calmer” in dealing with his wife’s condition. He added: “Frankly, I panicked. I thought: ‘I’ve got to get her to bed.’ It took an hour to get her up the stairs. I thought: ‘I can’t leave her lying on the floor, I’ve got to get her somewhere comfortable’.”
The following morning, after informing his wife’s carer and one of his sons that she’d had a bad night, Mr Stern left for the day to watch a football match.
At the inquest, Mr Stern’s son Peter quizzed him on why he didn’t get help. Peter Stern asked: “Why didn’t he call either Jane or Jamal, his grandson – who’s a fireman – to help him in that situation?”
Mr Stern replied: “It didn’t occur to me. It was very late at night.”
Mrs Stern’s health took a dramatic turn for the worse on the Saturday evening, when she suddenly started struggling to breathe.
Her son Daniel, who arrived just before midnight, said: “What happened in the next four to five hours was very harrowing. The noise was so horrific, her breathing was amplified – it was like Darth Vader. It was so frightening. It never stopped.”
He speculated that her symptoms were side-effects of a drug she had been given.
Mrs Stern, who set up the Feminist Education Centre, which met regularly at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm in the 1970s, died from pneumonia in the Royal Free on Monday.
A jazz fan, she once gave a home to singer Gail Ann Dorsey, who repaid the favour years later by introducing Mrs Stern to her idol, David Bowie.
Detective Sergeant Graeme Simpson, of Camden CID, told the inquest: “Initially, it was reported by the Royal Free that the deceased died of natural causes. Then this office received an allegation that Mrs Stern may have been the victim of an assault.”
But a second autopsy did not support the allegation. Det Sgt Simpson added: “There was no evidence of significant recent injury externally.”
Coroner Dr Reid said that on the Friday Mrs Stern had got into difficulties that had alarmed family and carers.
“Mrs Stern was becoming anxious about certain matters,” he added. “However, on evidence, her anxious state has not caused her death. On the evidence, the cause of her distress was broncho-pneumonia. I am satisfied there was no direct third-party involvement in her death.”
Speaking outside the court, Mr Stern said: “The verdict has been in accordance with the scientist’s report, pathology and so on. My wife unfortunately died of pneumonia caused by adenocarcinoma [lung cancer]. The coroner has confirmed that’s the case.” |
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