IN the wake of a decision following a judicial review into a decision by Essex Police not to reopen their investigation into the death of Lee Balkwell in South Ockendon, the force has made a statement – reiterating its position and once again passing on condolences to his family.

Today's decision by Judges Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Bennathan vindicates the police's position and came after a hearing in February, when Lee's dad argued his belief that his son was unlawfully killed. Mr Balkwell beleives his son's body was placed in a cement machine in a bid to make it look like an accident. His opinion was backed by a 2008 inquest which ruled Lee had been 'unlawfully killed'.

However, the grieving dad's request for police to be instructed to reopen their probe was not supported by the judges.

In the wake of that decision, Essex Police's Detective Chief Superintendent Lucy Morris said: "Essex Police is, and has always been, committed to getting justice for victims and their families.

"We know that Lee Balkwell's death is incredibly painful for his family and they still have questions about what happened to him.

"We know there were failings in the original 2002 investigation and for that we are truly sorry.

"However, between 2010 and 2014 we carried out a thorough and extensive inquiry into Lee's death which involved a team of officers carrying out more than 1,000 actions and producing more than 4,400 documents.

"A new post-mortem was carried out and we obtained evidence from expert witnesses in the fields of pathology, metallurgy, tachographs, and the operation of mixer lorries.

advertisement

"It resulted in a man being charged with gross negligence manslaughter and taken to trial, for which he was found not guilty, but was prosecuted for Health & Safety offences.

"The inquiry into Lee's death was closed following the conclusion of that trial.

"Whenever new information or potential evidence comes to light, we will always consider and review it to see if there are further investigative opportunities.

"However, sadly, in Lee's case there has been no information or evidence which has arisen since 2014 which has warranted a new investigation.

"We want to extend our condolences to Lee's family."