Next, Dr. Michael Greenslade, the senior medical officer from Portsmouth Hospital, was called, and he described how Marina had been admitted in an unconscious condition with a suspicion of Ricin poisoning.
He continued: “We immediately admitted her to our special isolated area for unusual cases and took all the necessary precautions. Although this is a very uncommon problem, our tests quickly confirmed that it was, indeed, the effects of Ricin, which is a very potent poison, and antidotes are rarely effective. We took advice from medical experts in London, but we were quite unable to reverse the deterioration in her condition, and sadly she passed away some 12 hours after her admission.”
The Coroner asked Dr. Greenslade if he or his colleagues had any previous experience of Ricin poisoning.
“Fortunately, no” came the reply. “This is something which has only occurred rarely in Europe or the USA, usually connected with some sort of political assassination attempt. We have had training in all types of extreme problems, including Ricin poisining, and there is a wealth of information available to us in the unlikely event of needing to deal with it. Bear in mind that we also had to protect our own team and to ensure that others who came into contact with the patient during the day were also tested for any possible contamination.”
Mr. Leveson then asked, “Can you comment on the likely quantity of this poison which had infected the patient?”
“Not specifically, sir,” replied the doctor. “There was still evidence of the white granules around her mouth and nose when she was admitted, but it takes only a very small amount of Ricin to prove fatal.”
The next witness was Detective Sergeant Bullock, who described what he’d found when he and other officers arrived at the flat in response to the call from the ambulance team which had answered the original 999 call from Miss Peters.
He then continued: “They had done all they could in these circumstances and when the doctor arrived a few minutes later, he told me he suspected that it might be a case of Ricin poisoning. I recognised that this was very serious and that the flat was now a crime scene. The medical team was able to use protective coverings to get the patient down to the ambulance and then to the hospital. We also put on protective overalls and began searching for evidence, and what soon became clear was that Miss Peters had been opening a pile of incoming mail. She had been sitting on a sofa, probably with all the mail on her lap, and she had obviously been ripping the envelopes open by hand, judging from those we saw on the sofa and the floor. It appears that she tore open a large brown envelope and the contents were a quantity of white powder which spilled out. We could see that the powder had been in the air and over her face, hands and arms. There was clearly more of it in the brown envelope which lay among the other envelopes on the floor, with more signs of the powder on the carpet. We took photographs before carefully collecting as much evidence as possible for further examination. Then our decontamination team arrived from Head Office and took over control of the area.
“Next I spoke to neighbours who said that Miss Peters had been away for over three weeks, and they showed me the individually named mailboxes in the lobby where she would have found her incoming letters. The postman is usually admitted by one of the ground floor residents to deliver mail each morning, but it seems that although the main door is normally kept locked, they agreed that it is sometimes left open for deliveries and for cleaning staff, so it would not be difficult for a stranger to enter and put an envelope into a specific mailbox.”
The Coroner thanked the sergeant for his full report and then called Detective Superintendent Maggs. He asked him, “What has been the result of your investigations and do you have any idea of who might be involved in this case?”
“As I am sure you know, sir, Miss Peters was involved in the situation which arose with the Russian agent who was arrested when he arrived in Portsmouth on board a Russian warship two months ago,” he began. “Since then, she has been looked after by MI5 in London while they prepared their case against the detained Russian, who turned out to be an agent with the Russian Intelligence Service. She would have been a material witness in the case, but as I am sure you know, there will no longer be a court hearing because the Russian was sent back home as part of an exchange arrangement.
“During the days after our arrest of the Russian, we became aware of a couple who were posing as relatives of Miss Peters and attempting to find her. We took surreptitious pictures of them and Scotland Yard was able to confirm that they were both known to be intelligence officers based at the Russian Embassy in London. We discovered the B where they had been staying for two nights and obtained some DNA evidence from their bathroom.
“There is little doubt that as members of the Russian Security Service, known as the GRU, they would have had access to substances such as Ricin. These two individuals did not find her because she had been relocated from her flat at the request of MI5, but it is a strong possibility that the Russian agents could have found a way to place the envelope in her mailbox. We put out an international search warrant for the couple, but it has now been confirmed to us that they flew back to Moscow on the same day that Miss Peters returned to Portsmouth. The whole matter is now in the hands of Scotland Yard and MI5.”
“I don’t suppose you had any reason to check Miss Peters’ flat or her mailbox while she was away?” asked the Coroner. “And do you think the suspicious envelope was properly sealed so that it could not have been a danger to anyone else?”
“I think that is correct,” said DS Maggs. “And bear in mind that Miss Peters had not committed any offence by corresponding with the Russian and had only been questioned by us and MI5 because of her importance as a potential witness.”
Robert Leveson decided that he had heard enough to reach the conclusion that the death of Miss Peters had been a case of murder by person or persons unknown. He also suggested that there was another criminal offence which the police might pursue, that of causing danger to the public by carrying an illegal deadly poison and then depositing it in a public area. He was therefore in a position to authorize the issue of a death certificate to the family. However, he had decided not to close the file, pending further inquiries and the possible apprehension of the perpetrators of the crimes in due course, and he would accordingly send his report to the Chief Constable, the Home Office and all the authorities involved. He extended his sympathy to the family and to Miss Peters’ friends and work colleagues in Portsmouth.
30.
A RED ROSE
Victor and Shona Peters had travelled to Portsmouth to be at the inquest, and as the witnesses and public audience slowly moved from the room, Victor was pleased to have an opportunity to chat to Betty McGuire, their daughter’s best friend, whom he had met briefly on his previous trip to the city. She then introduced Marina’s parents to other friends and neighbours, and soon they were also chatting in the Guildhall lobby area to some of her former Royal Navy colleagues, including the senior staff who had come from the Navy HQ. As they were all meeting each other, Victor interrupted and said, “You know, we don’t know much about Marina’s life here in Portsmouth – do you all have time to come over the road to the hotel for a drink or a cup of tea?”
About a dozen of the group quickly filled the hotel lounge, and orders were taken by the barman as Marina’s three years in Portsmouth were relived for her parents. They were both proud and fascinated, and eventually, the subject came round to funeral arrangements. They warmed to a suggestion from Commander Gaffney that it should be a Naval occasion in Portsmouth – and Victor then explained to his rather doubtful wife: “All her friends are here, and then we can have a family memorial service in Putney later on as well.”