Scandal of man's missing organs
David Latham, 71, from Treworthal, Roseland peninsula in Cornwall, a well-known countryside campaigner, died after he went swimming in the Arabian Sea between Mumbai and Goa and got into difficulties in shallow water.
At an inquest into his death yesterday, his wife Josephine was told Mr Latham's heart was removed during a post-mortem examination in India and was not returned to the UK with his body.
The inquest was told that although Indian authorities had said that Mr Latham had died from drowning, a British pathologist disagreed and the cause of death could not be determined because Mr Latham's heart was still in India.
It is the second case in 15 months where a person from the Westcountry has died in India and their organs were not returned with the body to the UK after the initial post-mortem examination. The mother of murdered teenager Scarlett Keeling, from Bradworthy, North Devon, was angered when she discovered her daughter's body had been returned with some of her internal organs missing.
Fiona MacKeown said she was furious because nobody in India had sought her permission to remove Scarlett's kidneys, stomach and uterus.
In February last year, Scarlett, 15, was found dead on a beach in Goa and Indian authorities said she too had accidentally drowned.
But during a second post-mortem examination, it transpired that she had been drugged, raped and killed. Mrs McKeown is still fighting to have her daughter's uterus, stomach and kidneys brought home.
Mr Latham, from Treworthal, Roseland peninsula, was in India on the third leg of a round-the-world trip with his wife Josephine. The couple were swimming when he got into difficulties in shallow water on January 17 last year.
Mrs Latham told the inquest she had climbed out of the water, but ran back in straight away when she heard her husband screaming.
She said: "He couldn't talk.
"He took hold of my hand like a vice and gave me the strangest look before letting go of my hand.
"I thought he was invincible – infallible.
"I never thought he would die.
"He rode horses and loved sport – he loved life.
"He was a remarkable, vivacious man."
Mrs Latham said that her husband fell unconscious and she screamed for help while trying to hold his head above water.
Seconds later, a man who had been sitting on the beach came to her aid.
They brought Mr Latham to shore where Mrs Latham performed CPR before the man helping her took over to perform chest compressions.
Between them, they worked for half an hour but Mr Latham never regained consciousness.
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy performed in India concluded that Mr Latham had drowned. But when the body was returned to the UK, a second examination was carried out by Dr Rob Marshall, consultant pathologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, Treliske, Truro.
He told yesterday's inquest at Truro that he did not believe Mr Latham had drowned.
Dr Marshall said: "The lungs were dry and there was no fluid as is typical in drowning. This was not a death by drowning. It is much more likely it was a cardiac event and that he died from a heart attack."
The inquest was told that Mr Latham had high blood pressure and was on medication.
Dr Emma Carlyon, Coroner for Cornwall, gave a narrative verdict, which outlined the events of the death without giving a verdict.
She said: "The cause of death has not been determined."
Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Latham, who was supported by relatives and friends, said: "No-one will ever know how much I miss him."
Mr Latham was master of the Four Burrow Hunt and a former South West chairman of the Countryside Alliance.
He was a well-known and respected figure in hunting circles who campaigned passionately to preserve the countryside and rural way of life.
Mr Latham was credited with almost single-handedly galvanising support for a march from Penzance to London to protest against the Government's hunting ban.
After Mr Latham's death, Jim Pascoe, chairman of the Four Burrow Hunt, said: "David led from the front. He had a dynamic energy which he directed at whatever he was working on.
"He was passionate about the countryside and country pursuits in general."
Alison Hawes, spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, said that Mr Latham "had a passion and enthusiasm for country sports like nobody else in the South West.
"He probably worked harder for the future of hunting than anyone and was renowned at the big demos for being there with his microphone, chivvying people along. David had found his niche. He was a leader and he relished it."
David Latham, 71, was a well-known countryside campaigner
