THE circumstances which led to a “kind, considerate and generous gentleman” suffering a fatal stab wound remain unclear, a coroner has concluded.

Gary James Ballett died in Poole Hospital on August 10, 2020, having been stabbed in the abdomen by Christopher Stocks the previous evening.

The incident happened at Trinidad House in Rossmore Road, Poole, where both men lived in neighbouring blocks.

Mr Stocks, 54, was charged with murder, however, he died weeks after testing positive for Covid, having fallen ill during the early stages of the Salisbury Crown Court trial in February last year.

An inquest into Mr Ballett’s death came to an end at Dorset Coroner’s Court on Friday, November 18.

Senior coroner for Dorset Rachael Griffin said it would be unsafe to record a short form conclusion of unlawful killing or lawful killing as the two defences to the allegation Mr Stocks put forward – self-defence and diminished responsibility – had not been examined and tested in open court.

Mrs Griffin recorded a narrative conclusion in relation to the death of 66-year-old Mr Ballett, a retired serviceman who left the armed forces at the rank of Corporal with an exemplary record.

The coroner said: “Gary James Ballett died as a consequence of a single stab injury inflected by another but the circumstances as to how that came about remain unclear.”

Trinidad House is a sheltered housing scheme provided by the council.

In the years leading up to Mr Ballett’s death there had been anti-social behaviour issues with Mr Stocks and other residents. No complaints had been raised by or linked to Mr Ballett prior to August 8, 2020.

The coroner said she was satisfied that before August 9, 2020, there were no known risks to Mr Ballett’s life from Mr Stocks that the local authority knew or ought to have known.

Row between neighbours

Mrs Griffin said multiple calls were made to police on the night of August 8, 2020, regarding a dispute between Mr Stocks and other residents, including Mr Ballett.

Police attended in the early hours of August 9, 2020, but there was “no ongoing dispute” and “all had gone quiet”, the coroner said.

An officer concluded there was no imminent risk to life and the incident was closed with a task sent to the neighbourhood policing team (NPT) to pick up the issue, the inquest heard.

The NPT did not view this until the morning of August 10, 2020, after Mr Ballett had been stabbed.

Mrs Griffin said it was not possible to say what would have happened if it had been picked up sooner.

Victim had no weapon

At around 7.30pm on August 9, 2020, Mr Ballett returned to Trinidad House and found communal chairs had been messed around with by Mr Stocks, so he went to his flat to address the situation.

The inquest heard he told a police officer following the stabbing he “went up there polite and the next thing he knew he had been stabbed”.

Mrs Griffin said in a prepared statement to police Mr Stocks had said a man had burst into his flat waving around a bat. In a subsequent statement Mr Stocks said he inflicted Mr Ballett’s injury.

The coroner said she was satisfied Mr Ballett was never in possession of a weapon when he entered the flat or while he was inside the address.

Mrs Griffin said it was not clear what happened from the available evidence.

Delay in surgical intervention

After the stabbing, emergency services attended and Mr Ballett was taken to Poole Hospital.

There was a delay in surgery taking place due to issues with the delivery of blood products, but this was not more than minimally contributory to Mr Ballett’s death, the coroner said.

Mrs Griffin said she would not be completing a preventing future deaths report as she was satisfied by actions taken by University Hospitals Dorset in relation to major and catastrophic haemorrhage and the steps Dorset Police had committed to take around the consideration of records before closing an incident. This involved the force sending a message to all police staff on this issue.

The coroner praised Mr Ballett’s family for how they had held themselves during the five-day inquest.

Expressing her condolences, Mrs Griffin said: “It is so very clear to me not just from you as a family, but from those who have given evidence before the court who knew Gary, what a special gentleman he was to many.”