Police yesterday admitted an "oversight'' in the case of Aaron Glen Easton and said an inquest will be held into his 1985 murder.

"At the time of this incident an inquest should have been opened and adjourned,'' Deputy Commissioner Mr. Michael Mylod said in a news release.

"H.M. Coroner will now be approached with a view to opening an inquest into the tragic death of Aaron Glen Easton.'' Asked why no inquest had been held into the May 4, 1985 killing, as required under the Coroners Act 1938, Mr. Mylod, through a spokesman, said: "There was an oversight by Police. There is no express reason why an inquest was not opened and adjourned.'' Mr. Mylod did not respond to a request to answer questions about the case directly, and Insp. Coghlin Gibbons of Police Community and Media Relations said he could not go beyond the Deputy Commissioner's statement.

In the statement, Mr. Mylod also said the investigation of Mr. Easton's murder was not over. "Murder files are never closed,'' he said. "They are systematically and periodically reviewed.

"Should any new information come to light, it will be exhaustively examined.

At present, there are no new lines of enquiry.'' The Royal Gazette reviewed the case yesterday, on the tenth anniversary of the stabbing death of the 19-year-old footballer.

Both Mr. Easton's mother, Mrs. Lois Easton of Warwick, and his father, Mr.

Horace Smith of Southampton, questioned why no inquest had been held.

Asked if she was pleased at news of the inquest yesterday, Mrs. Easton said: "I suppose so. Is that all they said?'' "It's long overdue,'' said Mr. Smith. He did not know whether the inquest would shed new light on his son's murder.

Mr. Easton was found dead in a yard outside Brooklyn Apartments on Laffan Street, Hamilton at about 1.45 a.m. on May 4, 1985. In addition to multiple stab wounds, he had suffered severe head injuries.

That afternoon, more than a dozen Police officers rushed to Spanish Point Park where a crowd of more than 20 youths were threatening to hang a man who they suspected in the killing.

Police rescued the 30-year-old Pembroke man and took him into custody, but he was released without charges. A 29-year-old Pembroke man was also taken into custody and released without charges.

Early in the probe, Police said they were encouraged by the progress they were making and the investigation looked promising. But no further arrests were made.

In a case of murder, an inquest cannot be closed until a suspect is charged.

That is why Mr. Mylod said an inquest should have been opened and adjourned.

DEPUTY COMMISSIONER Mr. Michael Mylod