The opening of an inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley has heard that the 45-year-old mortgage advisor was identified by her dental records.
On Monday, Lancashire Police confirmed that a body recovered from the River Wyre on Sunday belonged to the missing mum of two.
The body was found more than three weeks after she was last seen on January 27 when she had been walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, to school.
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While speaking at the opening of the inquest into the 45-year-old’s death, senior coroner Dr James Adeley said that maxillofacial surgeon Andrew Ian Edwards had examined the mum-of-two's medical records which had been obtained by police via her dentist.
The senior coroner said: "He examined the body that was located in the River Wyre near Rawcliffe Road in St Michael’s on Wyre at 2:15pm on February 20."
Dr Adeley also said that the surgeon found that restorative work carried out was identical, adding: "I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities, and more, that positive identification has been made."
No family member or Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell attended the hearing, which only lasted around five minutes, with Dr Adeley saying: "The family have been informed of the date, time and place of the opening of the inquest and have chosen not to attend for reasons I can quite understand."
The doctor also said that the rest of the evidence gathered by both police and the post-mortem examination needed "further evaluation". Dr Adeley further suggested that a full inquest was likely to be held in June.
"This will allow time to collate the facts of the case and allow the experts involved to finalise the findings from investigations that still need to be undertaken," the senior coroner continued.
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