THE family of a Jewish student who was fleeing a “sinister” anti-Semitic cult, will fight to reopen the German police investigation into his death after a coroner said he died “in a state of terror”.
Jeremiah Duggan, 22, died from fatal head injuries in the German city of Wiesbaden on March 27 this year when he ran into the road and was hit by two cars, Hornsey Coroner’s Court heart last week.
But 45 minutes before his death, he called his mother, Erica, at her home in Dunstan Road, Golders Green, to say: “I’m in big trouble.”
Coroner Dr William Dolman ruled out suicide of the Golders Green man and gave an unusual narrative verdict – literally a description of the events leading to the death. He said that when papers reached the court in Myddelton Road, Hornsey, it seemed at first a simple road traffic accident – but he immediately changed his mind. “From the very outset I could not accept the very bold conclusion that Jeremiah Duggan intended to take his own life,” he said. In summing up, Dr Dolman said it was difficult to know what had caused Jeremiah Duggan’s terror..
“What was he frightened of? What was he scared of that might make him run into the middle of the road? Sadly, we may never know.”
Mr Duggan had travelled to Germany for a conference at the Schiller Institute, part of an extreme, right-wing political cult called the LaRouche Youth Movement.
Before she knew of her son’s death Mrs Duggan, concerned that her son had gone missing, telephoned Ortrum Cramer at the Schiller Institute to say Jeremiah was terrified for his life.
But the inquest heard that Ms Cramer failed to inform the German police. Giving evidence to the court, Mrs Duggan broke down in tears and said: “I have lost what is most important to me.”
Mrs Duggan’s solicitor, Jackie Turner, said that the German prosecutor in charge of the investigation had already rejected re-opening the case.
“But we believe that under Article two of the European Convention, to which Germany is a signatory, a full investigation is necessary,” she said.
Ms Turner confirmed that the family would now consider employing a legal representative in Germany to assist in their attempts to persuade the authorities to reopen the case.
The Duggans have launched a memorial fund, which they hope will raise money to support possible legal action.
When the Ham&High called Ms Cramer at the Schiller Institute, she said: “I assume you have called about Jeremiah Duggan and we are not giving a comment.”
Mrs Duggan remained hopeful on Tuesday despite hearing that the German authorities see no reason to open the case.
She said: “In view of the findings that the coroner could not discover any evidence of suicide, I think their duty is to reopen the case.
“I would expect them to leave no stone unturned on finding out what led a perfectly normal young man to do this.”
Metropolitan Police submitted evidence to the inquest that the LaRoche Youth Movement was “a political cult with sinister and dangerous connections”.
Police said the group recruited students aged 18 to 24 years and used mental manipulation to get them to abandon their studies and promote charismatic American leader Lyndon LaRoche to be the next US president.
“It blames the Jewish people for the Iraq war and other problems in the world,” police said.
“Jeremiah’s lecture notes showed the anti-Semitic nature of the ideology.”
Dennis King is the author of the book Lyndon LaRouche and the New American Fascism, and has followed Mr LaRouche’s career with interest.
He said he could believe that Mr Duggan had reacted badly to the movement’s techniques, which could have caused him to run in a “state of terror” from where he was staying in Wiesbaden.
“They use a variety of techniques,” he said. “They try to persuade them to be part of their family, they love-bond them and give them work to do and build up that work until you are doing nothing else.
“It turns into a 24-hour operation – they are sucked in and they are totally in the group.”
But he explained that Mr Duggan could have reacted to the pressure he was put under or become frightened by the some of the more extreme ideas he was being introduced to.
“I think it is possible that he tried to leave and they might have tried to restrain him. Imagine being Jewish and thinking these people want to kill you in the long run.”