Inquest into death of Town End Farm murderer suspended due to “ongoing criminal investigation”

The inquest into the death of a convicted murderer from Town End Farm has been suspended due to an ongoing criminal investigation.

Stephen Bonallie died on New Year’s Eve of 2022, aged 32, when the car he was travelling in collided with a tree in the early hours of the morning.

The incident, which happened on the A167 near Durham city centre, also left another man in his 30s fighting for his life. He has since been released from hospital.

Today, an inquest into Bonallie’s death was suspended at County Durham and Darlington Coroners court due to an ongoing investigation. Senior Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield rescheduled the hearing for November 12.

It is not known what the investigation is or who it pertains to.

Bonallie had been released from prison just months before the collision. He had been locked up after beating vulnerable Brent Martin, 23, to death. Bonallie, who was 17 at the time, was jailed along with William Hughes and Marcus Miller, who all received life sentences in 2008.

But Bonallie, formerly of Birtley Avenue, Town End Farm Sunderland, had his minimum term of 18 years cut to 15 years by appeal judges later that year. ChronicleLive previously reported how Brent, who had learning disabilities, sobbed and begged his killers to be his friend.

But he was kicked and stamped on before being left to die in a pool of blood with his underwear around his ankles. It was one of the most horrific and savage murders the city had experienced in recent times.