Ellie Marsden, 20, and Ryan Duffy, 24, both from Wigan, were found dead on a narrow country road in Cumbria having earlier been followed by police, an inquest heard
A couple were found dead at the side of the road with their van crashed into a tree many hours after they were followed by police, an inquest has heard.
Ellie Marsden, 20, and 24-year-old Ryan Duffy, both from Wigan, had travelled to spend a night at a hotel in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, on September 4, 2021. They arrived at the Appleby Castle Hotel and were checked in at around 10pm by duty manager James Usher.
“The man [Ryan] said something along the lines of ‘I just want to make her happy with a night away’,” said Mr Usher in a statement read to the inquest in Carlisle. “Both were friendly. They seemed in good spirits.”
The inquest was told how Ellie and Ryan went to Appleby’s Hare and Hounds pub, where they remained until just after 12.30am. A police officer on mobile patrol in a marked Ford Transit, close to the town centre pub, at Low Wiend, saw care assistant Ellie getting into the passenger seat of a white Citroen Berlingo van, which was then driven away by Ryan.
The officer decided to follow the van, which was seen to travel the wrong way along a one-way street. It then turned right on to Boroughgate. “The officer followed the van on to rural roads around Appleby,” assistant coroner Joseph Hart told an 11-strong jury as he resumed an inquest into the deaths of Ellie and United Utilities leakage engineer Ryan.
“At times he seems to have lost sight of the van. You will hear about how the officer followed that vehicle on those rural roads. But at this stage you should be aware the officer didn’t illuminate his emergency blue lights. After a distance the officer ceased to follow that vehicle, and he thought the driver might in fact have been aware of his presence.”
The officer notified police force control of his observations regarding the Citroen van. He returned to Appleby and later pulled over a similar van in the town centre which proved not to be the Citroen he had originally spotted. Hours later, at around 7.40am, a married couple travelling along the narrow single carriageway C3057 road — around three miles south-east of the village of Kings Meaburn — came across a crashed van. Inside were the bodies of Ellie and Ryan.
“The van was straight off the road and had crashed into a big tree,” stated witness Bill Offord, who had been travelling with his wife. There were skid marks on the road and extensive damage to the Berlingo. “The front of the vehicle was destroyed. It must have been a huge impact with the tree,” Mr Offord also stated.
Before evidence began, assistant coroner Mr Hart told jurors they would have to consider a number of issues during what was a “fact-finding” hearing to establish facts but not to apportion blame. “You will have to consider the movements and the observations of the police officer in Appleby town centre at the time Ellie and Ryan left the pub and got into the Berlingo van,” said the coroner.
Jurors would consider the route and journey taken by Ryan. “You will consider the corresponding movements and the speed of the police officer when he was following the van,” said Mr Hart. “You will have to consider whether the police officer was involved in pursuing the Duffy van. You will have to consider the officer’s decision to stop following that van.”
Moving tributes to Ellie and Ryan were read to jurors by their mothers. Karen Duffy said of Ryan, who loved nature, camping, cycling, climbing, walking and angling: “He was a larger than life character, always smiling and happy. He could light up a room with his infectious laugh.
“He was fearless and would have a go at anything. Ryan’s philosophy for life was to grab it by the horns and live it to the full. He made me proud every day.” Ellie, said Ryan’s mum, was very special in his life with “two beautiful souls having been taken too soon”. “I do know that the world is a poorer place for Ryan and Ellie not being in it.,” she said. “He was my world and will be missed always.”
Kelly Kennedy paid tribute to Ellie, daughter of Allan and sister of Chloe. “Ellie always wore her heart on her sleeve and had the most impeccable manners with a genuine kindness and love radiating from her,” said her mum. Ellie was “loyal, loving, caring, kind and genuine”, loved make-up, fashion and ice cream. “So many hearts have been broken by Ellie’s loss. So many,” said her mum, who called her “indescribably special”.
“She just wanted to make a difference, to make everyone happy. Every bone in her body was kind, loving, caring. She just wanted to make the world a better place. Equally the world was a better place with Ellie in it.” The inquest, which is expected to last several days, continues.
