The family of a man who died in Bermuda has been left devastated after discovering many of his body parts are missing.

Relatives of Norman Palmer were already struggling to cope with an alleged botched ambulance journey and his death, but when they took Mr. Palmer's body home to the UK they discovered half his body parts were missing.

It was only when a UK Coroner ordered another Post Mortem, due to being dissatisfied with the cause of death as "respiratory failure", that the family made the horrific discovery.

Now Mr. Palmer's wife Kathy and sisters Heather Carberry and Marion Bishop are facing the trauma of not knowing where his body parts are, who has taken them, and why.

Ms Bishop, of Paget, told The Royal Gazette: "This has just ruined all our lives. First of all my sister sees my brother suffocating to death, and then to find out this has happened, it's absolutely horrendous.

"It is like something out of a horror film and it has left us all feeling numb. But we are also very angry. All we can think about now is that we want justice for our brother.

"We need answers and we need the right answers. Where are my brother's body parts, and why were they taken?

"Why take Norman's kidney and his brain and the brain stem?

"They even took my brother's throat and small intestines. What are they doing with his body parts? I feel the Police should be involved."

Mr. Palmer died on April 12 at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. The 57-year-old was the owner of Professional Excavating and lived in Leafy Way, Paget. He arrived in Bermuda 30 years ago and in the event of his death, requested to be flown back to Britain to be cremated.

The law in England and Wales requires a Coroner to hold an inquest into a death in a foreign jurisdiction if the body is then returned to the UK. According to the pathologist's Post Mortem report at Yeovil District Hospital, Somerset, Mr. Palmer's missing tissues and organs include:

• two-thirds of the brain — including the brain stem;

• one kidney;

• the spleen;

• the "upper mediastinal structures" including the throat,

• "a large part of the small and large intestines".

Consultant Histopathologist Dr. E.J. Cooper also stated: "Some tissues were NOT present. It is not possible to take microbiology or toxicology."

He said: "As the upper airways were not present I cannot comment on any respiratory obstruction."

In conclusion, Dr. Cooper noted the cause of death as "unascertained", prompting Coroner Tony Williams to declare the autopsy an 'Interim Post Mortem'.

Mr. Williams, HM Coroner for East Somerset, has now asked the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to assist in an investigation, while the MP for Mr. Palmer's sister Ms Carberry has referred the matter to Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

Mr. Williams has asked for a copy of the Bermuda Coroner's Post Mortem report and is requesting "the outcome of any further enquiries and investigations". The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a specialist unit dedicated to assisting coroners in obtaining documentation from foreign jurisdictions.

Mr. Williams told The Royal Gazette: "The body of Norman Palmer was brought from Bermuda into my jurisdiction of East Somerset, England.

"The only documentation which accompanied the body stated that he had died as a result of 'respiratory failure'. This is not acceptable as a cause of death in England and Wales, and since there was no evidence in the accompanying papers of a Post Mortem having been carried out, I duly ordered a Post Mortem.

"On April 25, I opened Mr. Palmer's inquest, entering into evidence my pathologist's interim finding that the cause of death was unascertained pending further enquiries.

"I must now await the outcome of the ongoing enquiries in Bermuda before I proceed further."

Ms Bishop, a businesswoman, said that no one requested the family's permission to remove any tissues or organs, and she questioned whether the UK has any jurisdiction over this practice in Bermuda.

Ms Bishop said yesterday: "Nobody told us anything. How many more people has this happened to? People should be very concerned."

Ms Carberry's MP for Yeovil, David Laws, has told Foreign Secretary David Miliband that the coroner's investigation "highlighted that all of the main organs of Mr. Palmer had been removed at the hospital in Bermuda, without permission from any relatives and without telling any relative about this".

In a letter, he said: "Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Carberry were deeply shocked about this, and when they looked into matters they discovered that there was nothing in Bermudian law which appeared to prevent this type of incident taking place.

"Are you able to raise with the Bermudian Government whether it is, in fact, within the law in Bermuda to behave in this way in relation to the organs of somebody who has died?"

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday: "We can confirm that local authorities are aware of this case and are assisting as appropriate. We cannot go into more detail due to the confidentiality of the case."

A spokesman for the Bermuda Hospitals Board denied that KEMH had kept Mr. Palmer's organs. He said the autopsy was carried out under the Coroners Act.

"Bermuda Hospitals Board has strict policies governing autopsy investigations and meets all legislative requirements in these matters," he said.

"In this case, in accordance with regulations, a small number of tissue samples were retained with the approval of the Coroner's Officer, to ascertain cause of death.

"However, all organs were returned with the deceased to the funeral home in line with BHB's policy."

Mr. Palmer's family are currently awaiting the results of a BHB investigation into why it allegedly took 20 minutes for an ambulance to transport him to hospital from just a few streets away.

Mr. Palmer — who had been complaining of an obstruction to his throat, lived close to KEMH in a cul-de-sac off Tee Street. But according to Ms Carberry, it took at least 20 minutes from the 911 call to his arrival in Accident and Emergency. Mr. Palmer died shortly afterwards.

The family is now considering legal action, alleging a lack of urgency and professionalism by the ambulance attendant and driver. Ms Carberry, 53, claims the crew showed "no compassion, no respect, nothing".

When the ambulance got on its way after several alleged bungled attempts to take Mr. Palmer out of the house on a trolley, the tube to his oxygen mask became detached — something Ms Carberry said she had to bring to the attendant's attention.

Ms Bishop said yesterday: "We still have not had a response from the hospital, not a word. But we have a lawyer and feel we are going to take legal action. If the ambulance had only taken ten minutes, my brother might still be alive today."

She added: "Can you imagine how we feel now, after all of the issues with the ambulance, to then find out my brother's body has been mutilated?

"We are not coping. Kathy is still in the UK as she is not well enough to come home, and my sister hasn't been able to return to work yet."

Ms Bishop said: "Kathy, Heather and myself are never going to stop until we find out and are satisfied with the answers we get. We will never, ever give up."