This page explains in details the role of the coroner in the UK, but the main information is below:
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Who are coroners?
Coroners are usually lawyers but in some cases they may be doctors. Coroners are independent judicial officers - this means that no-one else can tell them or direct them as to what they should do but they must follow the laws and regulations which apply. Each coroner has to have a deputy and between them they have to be available at all times. Coroners are helped by their officers, who receive the reports of deaths and make enquiries on behalf of the coroner. Some officers are full-time but in less densely populated parts of the country they are part-time and often work as policemen or policewomen the rest of the time. The cost of the coroners' service is met by local taxation.
What does the coroner do?
A coroner enquires into those deaths reported to him or her. It is his or her duty to find out the medical cause of the death, if it is not known, and to enquire about the cause of it if it was due to violence or otherwise appears to be unnatural.
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I can only assume that in this case, where cause of death was established to be from an American bullet, and with the American soldiers present at the time of death refusing to answer questions, the coroner did not feel he was unable to bring any verdict other than unlawful killing.