David Hughes on the Inquest surrounding the drowning of 13 year old boy, Christopher Kapessa

David Hughes represents the boy accused of pushing 13 year old, Christopher Kapessa into a river, causing him to drown.

BBC News reported the following:

Christopher Kapessa, 13, died after the incident in the River Cynon in Fernhill, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in 2019.

The inquest heard another boy, then 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pushed Christopher into the water.

Christopher, who could not swim, immediately got into difficulty and other children jumped in to help but he could not be saved.

sabella Watts, 18, told South Wales Central Coroner’s Court in Pontypridd that Christopher had taken off his shoes, T-shirt and glasses and was standing on a ledge, considering whether to jump.

Ms Watts, who witnessed the incident, said the boy who is accused of pushing Christopher into the water was standing behind him.

Tom Leeper, counsel to the inquest, asked Ms Watts: “How did Christopher end up in the water?”

“[The boy] pushed him… he went into the water, and he was fine for about 30 seconds, and then he started going up and down and waving his arms,” she said.

The court heard that other children at the scene jumped into the water to try to save Christopher, including the boy accused of pushing him in.

David Hughes, representing the alleged pusher, suggested Ms Watts’s attention had more focused on conversations with her friends, and the boy may have stumbled instead of pushing Christopher.

Read more from the BBC news article here

David Hughes is regularly instructed in some of the most high profile inquests and inquiries.

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David Hughes

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