British millionaire d!es a day after marrying carer who inherited his fortune

A millionaire farmer who died just a day after marrying his girlfriend was embalmed with “undue haste,” a coroner’s inquest in Tullamore, County Offaly, has heard.

Joseph Grogan, 75, passed away at his home around 3 p.m. on April 15, 2023, a day after marrying Lisa Flaherty, 50, at a registry office. Mr Grogan had been diagnosed with stage four, high-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma earlier that year and had undergone chemotherapy. While he developed infections after two of the four treatment rounds, he was said to be responding well.

Mr Grogan’s remains were embalmed within hours of his death, a move Coroner Raymond Mahon said complicated efforts to determine a definitive cause of death. The embalming occurred before a post-mortem could be properly conducted, preventing toxicology tests from being performed.

The inquest heard from Peter Jones, solicitor for Mr Grogan’s 90-year-old aunt, who said there remained “an awful lot of unanswered questions.” He criticised the speed at which the body was removed and embalmed. Barrister Damien Tansey, representing Mr Grogan’s cousins, also pushed for a forensic investigation, calling the death “sudden and unexpected.” He noted local concern and medical community unease had not been addressed.

Pathologist Dr Charles d’Adhemar concluded cancer and organ failure were not the direct cause of death. He cautioned that the three medications prescribed to Mr Grogan could depress the respiratory and nervous systems if not administered correctly. However, due to the embalming, drug levels in the body could not be tested.

Mr Tansey challenged claims made by Ms Flaherty about the extent and duration of her relationship with Mr Grogan. She said they had been together since she was 16, a claim the Grogan family found distressing. The family also raised concerns about secrecy surrounding the marriage, which even Ms Flaherty’s sister reportedly did not know about until the day after it occurred.

The coroner, however, declined to rule on the validity of the marriage, focusing solely on the circumstances surrounding the death.

Representing Ms Flaherty, Stephen Byrne rejected the suggestion that she had any role in Mr Grogan’s death, arguing the threshold for a criminal investigation had not been met. He said Ms Flaherty had stepped up to care for her husband when others had not, and criticised the inquest for subjecting her to harsh scrutiny.

On the day of Mr Grogan’s death, a neighbour and psychiatric nurse with palliative care training, who is also Ms Flaherty’s sister, was called to the house. She was told that an ambulance had been summoned and that paramedics advised palliative services would not be available until Monday. Mr Grogan had allegedly said he preferred to remain at home.

Further questions arose over how the body was released. Mr Martin Keyes, a lorry driver and part-time undertaker, said he transported Mr Grogan’s body to Longford around 7:30 p.m. after being told by Ms Flaherty that a doctor had given permission. Mr Keyes later admitted he had not seen a death certificate and acknowledged that the doctor on call, not being Mr Grogan’s GP, could not have given such consent.

The coroner ultimately ruled that Mr Grogan died of natural causes linked to a probable infection, compounded by a compromised immune system due to cancer and its treatment. While recognising “valid concerns” over the care Mr Grogan received, the coroner noted that the deceased had been reluctant to seek medical attention.

The three-day inquest concluded on July 16, with Ms Flaherty leaving the court in tears. She stands to inherit Mr Grogan’s 220-acre farm in Screggan, Tullamore, valued at €5.5 million.

Source: LIB