Family of Michael Barrymore pool victim fear pathologist's death may leave mystery unsolved

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The death of the pathologist who missed vital evidence in the Michael Barrymore pool death mystery has raised fears the case may never be solved.Stuart Lubbock was found dead at a late-night party at the former Strike It Lucky presenter’s Essex home in 2001.His family now believe no one will ever be brought to justice over his death, reports the Mirror.Dr Michael Heath’s postmortem determined tragic Stuart, 37, had drowned.However, later tests showed he had marks on his face indicating asphyxia, possibly from an arm clamped round his throat during a sex assault.The doctor’s failure to link that to the cause of death meant vital weeks were missed in the cop probe.Dr Heath went on to be discredited over his handling of other cases, and was under investigation by the General Medical Council at the time of his passing.Stuart’s brother Kevin, 55, said: “Dr Heath should have been struck off years ago.“Instead, his slap-dash judgments led to many wrong decisions at inquests, notably Stuart’s.

He has caused families untold pain and left many without answers. With his death, it’s doubtful any families touched by Dr Heath will get any true justice, including ours.”Before his death from cancer in 2021, Stuart’s father Terry said: “His findings in my son’s case were ridiculous.”The pool death effectively ended the TV career of Barrymore, 71, who has always denied any involvement in Stuart’s death.

A police investigation into the death at his home remains open. A man was held in 2021 but released without charge.Dr Heath’s death aged 75 may make any conviction more unlikely as he cannot be challenged in court over his bungled findings.The pathologist undertook thousands of postmortems – including Moors Murderer Myra Hindley’s – and