Attorney General Dame Lois Browne-Evans said she believed former Police Chief Colin Coxall never had any intention of coming to Bermuda to give evidence at the inquiry into serious crime.

Dame Lois spoke out after The Royal Gazette reported last week that Mr. Coxall had refused to come to the Island to talk about his involvement in the Rebecca Middleton murder case because his request for an indemnity from civil action had been refused.

He asked for an assurance that he would not personally be liable to civil action after receiving advice from the Association of Chief Police Offices in Britain.

But as of last week, the indemnity, which would make Government and the Police force itself liable should somebody sue, had still not been granted.

And the Governor's office said it had not been told what Mr. Coxall's legal position was.

On the basis of that, Mr. Coxall, who was in charge of the force at the time the Canadian teenager was raped, tortured and stabbed to death in Ferry Reach in July 1996, said he would not come to Bermuda, or meet the commissioners elsewhere.

But the Attorney General (AG) said she thought the indemnity issue was an excuse.

"It's obvious the man did not want to come -- that's my feeling,'' said Dame Lois.

"I don't know why he thought he needed it anyway. Who is going to sue him in Bermuda -- Mr. Middleton and Mr. Meens? "We are not in America. I was not going to grant anything before knowing why he would need it. Nobody would sue him.'' She said she would have to get the approval of Cabinet before granting Mr.

Coxall an indemnity.

And Dame Lois also said she believed the commissioners leading the inquiry into the handling of serious crime on the Island would not re-open the public sessions to hear his evidence, anyway.

However, only last week chairman of the commission Justice Stanley Moore made attempts to bring Mr. Coxall to Bermuda, and even offered to fly elsewhere to meet him.

But his attempts failed.

The AG also denied she had been informed of Mr. Coxall's request as soon as it was made in July.

Coxall testimony a missing piece of the puzzle But she claimed that when she was told some weeks later, she asked why he wanted it, and was never given the answers.

Last night, Mr. Coxall was not available to comment.

The family of Rebecca Middleton were eager to see Mr. Coxall give evidence at the inquiry into how her death was investigated and why prosecutors and Police arrived at the decisions they did.

Two people, Kirk Mundy and Justis Smith, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in her death about a week after.

Mundy, who was older and on bail for armed robbery, automatically pointed the finger of blame at his friend, claiming to have had consensual sex with Rebecca, but saying he arrived back at the scene to find Smith stabbing her.

During the inquiry, it has been revealed that on that evidence alone Mundy was charged with the lesser charge of accessory after the fact, and Smith of pre-meditated murder.

However, DNA and other forensic evidence later showed that Mundy probably played a major role in her death and that two people were likely to have been involved - one to hold her down and the other to inflict the 30 torture wounds.

Prosecutors in the case said they had no choice but to charge Mundy with accessory after the fact, but Rebecca's father Dave Middleton believes differently.

And he thinks Bermuda should have done everything possible to assist Mr.

Coxall to give evidence in order for the whole picture of what happened to be painted.

And he urged Government to think again on the issue of the indemnity.

He added: "I'm very disappointed. They should have granted Mr. Coxall immunity because he really is the last piece of the jigsaw.''