Emiliano Sala tragedy: Two people appear in court over mortuary photo of star striker

Emiliano Sala, 28, had just signed for Cardiff City when a plane carrying him crashed into the English Channel in January.
Emiliano Sala, 28, had just signed for Cardiff City when a plane carrying him crashed into the English Channel in January. Credit: Reuters

Two people have appeared in court following an investigation into a mortuary photograph of footballer Emiliano Sala.

Sala, 28, had just signed for Cardiff City when a plane carrying him crashed into the English Channel, north of Guernsey on January 21.

His body was recovered on February 6 after an extensive search, but pilot David Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, has not yet been located.

Last month, Wiltshire Police said two people had been summonsed to court after an image emerged showing the striker's remains.

Sherry Bray, 48, of Corsham, was summonsed for three counts of computer misuse, perverting the course of justice and sending an indecent/offensive message.

Christopher Ashford, 62, of Calne, was summonsed in relation to six counts of computer misuse.

The pair are accused of illegally accessing CCTV at Bournemouth Mortuary and replaying a post-mortem of the Cardiff City striker - and Dorset grandfather Andrew Latchford.

Ashford is said to have watched Emiliano Sala's post-mortem six times over a 48 hour period.

Bray is accused of watching the post-mortem live on February 7 and distributing an image of Sala from the investigation.

Prosecutors allege she perverted the course of justice by deleting pictures of the football player from her phone and instructing Ashford to "delete the pics".

It's just the latest in a series of tragic developments surrounding the untimely death of the star striker.

Last month, a 64-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by Dorset Police in connection with the doomed flight. 

"We have carried out a wide-ranging investigation into the circumstances of the death of Mr Sala and continue to work with partner agencies including the Civil Aviation Authority," said Detective Inspector Simon Huxter at the time. 

"As part of this investigation we have to consider whether there is any evidence of any suspected criminality and as a result of our inquiries we have today, Wednesday June 19 2019, arrested a 64-year-old man from the North Yorkshire area on suspicion of manslaughter by an unlawful act.

"He is assisting with our inquiries and has been released from custody under investigation."

 Voice messages of the Argentinian football player were also released after his death, revealing that he was reluctant to join Cardiff City but felt pressured by his agent at the time. 

The revelations caused the ethics of sports agents to be called into question, with claims that Sala felt "abandoned" by those who were supposed to be looking out for his welfare. 

His father, Horacio Sala, passed away from a heart attack just three months after his son was killed with his final thoughts on the tragedy captured in a BBC documentary.

“Why was it so hard for them to find something safe?" he said. "Why couldn’t they?"

“They left him alone. They left him alone like a dog. They abandoned him.”

 

License this content