The inquest into the death of Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack has been adjourned again, nearly three years after she died on 20 September 2023 at the age of 27. The hearing, which began on 29 June and has heard eight full days of evidence, had been scheduled to conclude on Friday before the coroner delivered her conclusions on 27 July. However, on Thursday it was confirmed proceedings were delayed, with the coroner stating that new documents had been lodged and the inquest would restart on 7 December.
The coroner said the additional documents required recalling former club doctor Dr Subhasis Basu and former club physio Francesca Carr to give further evidence. She also requested contact details for former assistant physio Sean Bowskill, who the court wishes to call. The coroner may also hear further evidence from Cusack's GP, Dr Mobeen Bhatti. This is the second time this year the inquest has been adjourned; it was previously pushed back from 5 January to 29 June after the family received 699 pages of new evidence from Sheffield United 10 days before Christmas, which their lawyers described as 'totally unacceptable'.
Since 29 June, the court has heard evidence describing Cusack as 'Miss Sheffield United' and the 'poster girl' of the club's women's team, as well as a 'bubbly, lovely person'. Witnesses have included her parents, four former teammates, her GP, Basu, Carr, Sheffield United chief executive Stephen Bettis, and other club staff. The club's head of HR, Vicki Anderson, and the Football Association's head of integrity, David Matthews, were scheduled to give evidence on Thursday, but this was postponed. The FA's investigation findings have been made available to the coroner but not publicly released.
The coroner also asked Sheffield United's legal team to conduct a 'forensic audit of the system' for medical records of the women's team, to determine if there were subsequent entries or deletions relating to Cusack's records. Earlier, the court repeatedly heard that large sections of her medical records had not been found. The coroner said she will separately write to Sheffield University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to request Cusack's medical records from August 2022 until her death, and an audit of anyone who accessed the records.
The coroner concluded by saying: 'I am very sorry to the family in particular, Miss Riglar and all the interested persons. I'm genuinely sorry we've got another period before we can conclude this inquest in December.' She added that her thoughts would be with them on the anniversary of Cusack's death. When the inquest resumes on 7 December, the court will hear from Carr, Basu, Bowskill, and then return to the unfinished schedule, including Anderson, the FA, and evidence on prevention of future deaths. Deborah Cusack, Maddy's mother, may also give further evidence.
