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Inquest into Peter Roebuck's death to be reopened

Reports suggest prosecutors in South Africa will re-examine the circumstances of Peter Roebuck's supposed suicide in 2011

Peter Roebuck  •  Getty Images

Peter Roebuck  •  Getty Images

South African prosecutors are reportedly set to reopen the inquest into the death of Peter Roebuck, the former Somerset captain turned journalist who died in 2011. Roebuck fell to his death from a hotel room in Cape Town, with local police saying he had committed suicide.
Roebuck's family have previously expressed concern that they were not invited to be present at a closed hearing in 2013. Roebuck, who was in South Africa covering Australia's Test tour, had been confronted by police while staying at the Southern Sun Hotel over allegations of sexual assault.
South Africa's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Western Province, has been reviewing the case for a number of years. In 2016, the original inquest "docket" on the incident, which was believed to have been lost, was discovered and passed on to the DPP.
Now, the Mail on Sunday has reported that the case will be re-examined "in the interests of justice", although no date has been set for the inquest.
David Hood, an English barrister representing the Roebuck family, said in a statement to the newspaper: "From the outset, the family and supporters of the late Peter Roebuck have put their faith in the legal system of South Africa. It is important to all internationally recognised systems of justice that justice is not only done, but is seen to be done.
"That could never have been with the death of Peter Roebuck, unless and until the circumstances of his death were examined at a legally convened hearing held in public with witnesses called and questioned under oath."
The inquest is expected to examine a number of questions around Roebuck's death, including the nature of the injuries he sustained after falling from the sixth floor and how he was able to jump through a window while a police office was supposedly present in the room.