A coroner says criminal justice failings are putting lives in danger after an 18-month delay on whether to charge a man accused of the hit-and-run death of a mother out walking her dogs.
Marie Theobald, 48, was out for a stroll with pets Riley and Honey when she was struck and killed by a white Seat Leon on December 22, 2023.
The car did not stop at the scene, the Met Police said, but a man was arrested shortly after the crash.
But criminal charges are still pending, and in a rare intervention east London coroner Graeme Irvine has now said he believes the delays are putting the public in danger.
He pointed out the man arrested over the death could still be driving around, as he faces no bail conditions nor an interim disqualification.
“Ms Theobald was killed over 18 months ago”, he wrote, in a report warning of potential future deaths.
“Delays in the criminal investigation mean that an identified suspect is neither subject to conditional bail, driving disqualification, nor are they remanded in custody.
“The absence of these measures mean that a risk of further fatal harm exists.”
Ms Theobald was just metres away from her home in Chigwell when she was hit by the car, at just before 5.10pm.
She died at the scene in Manford Way, despite the efforts of paramedics to save her life.
Mr Irvine said the inquest was formally opened on January 9, 2024, and two scheduled inquests to conclude the investigation have had to be abandoned.
“As of 18th July 2025, no charging decision has been made in this tragic case”, he added.
His report has been sent to the Met Police for a response, as well as to Ms Theobald’s family and the local Director of Public Health.
Lengthy delays in investigations of road traffic deaths are common in London, with families of victims sometimes forced to wait years for justice.
The backlog of all types of criminal cases already in the Crown Court system in England and Wales reached 76,957 at the end of March.
The government is now mulling over proposals for radical reform of the justice system in a bid to cut delays and tackle the backlog, which is on course to reach 100,000 by 2030.
Latest Ministry of Justice from the start of 2025 show it now takes an average of 400 days for criminal charges to be brought after an offence, up from just under 300 days at the start of 2016.
On average, crime victims face a wait of just under two years to see justice being done once the full court process has ended, while some face several years of waiting.
At Isleworth crown court this week, a woman who fell victim to a knifepoint robbery of her mobile phone and bag was told the trial will not be until February 2029.
The suspect robber had just turned 18 at the time of the incident, and will be 23-years-old when her trial happens.
