Man Faces Barwell Murder Charge

Man Faces Barwell Murder Charge

A man will be charged with murdering a custody officer, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Humphrey Burke, 22, is accused of the murder of Lorraine Barwell, who was attacked at Blackfriars Crown Court in London on June 29.

She died later in hospital.

Chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, Baljit Ubhey, said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Humphrey Kevin Burke, 22, with the murder of Lorraine Barwell. Ms Barwell was attacked in Blackfriars Crown Court on 29 June 2015 while working as a custody officer.

"This decision was made under the Full Code Test of the Code for Crown Prosecutors."

Scotland Yard said Ms Barwell, 54, died on July 1 from her injuries.

A post-mortem examination found the provisional cause of death to be "blunt force trauma to the head".

Ms Barwell was attacked at around 1.35pm on June 29 as she escorted a prisoner between the court and a waiting van which was parked inside the court yard.

London's Air Ambulance was called and she was treated at the scene before being taken to an east London hospital.

The security firm Serco promised a safety review following the attack.

A spokesman said Ms Barwell had been working alongside colleagues at the time.

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